Time Breakdown
by Xrangel
Summary: Okabe Rintarou needs to save Mayuri from death. He can't let it end like this. The Time Leap machine seems like the perfect tool to save her, but when it suddenly malfunctions, Okabe has to deal with the repercussions. **Time loop story**
1. Prologue

***A/N* If you notice a shift in tone or writing style, it's because I'm currently writing this story. I will remove this author's note once it's all updated.**

* * *

"Okabe! Is this really okay?! Are you okay with time leaping?" Kurisu shouts while setting up the phonewave.

Smoke completely fills the room, making sight nearly impossible. The smoke in mention was produced by Future Gadget #4: Monad Snake. But the fact that I could barely see it was good. Maybe I won't have to see any more of my friends get shot before I time leap. A chill runs down my spine as I recall Mayuri's lifeless body, falling to the ground after being shot by Moeka.

Squinting through the fog, I grope for the headset to the Phonewave. After a few seconds, I finally find it and shove it onto my head. As soon as I do, I shout to Kurisu.

"Kurisu! Activate it!"

As soon as I did, a large shaking fills the room. The discharge phenomenon was starting! Through the smoke, rays of blue lightning snakes out from the Phonewave. I roughly shove the headgear on my head. Holding my phone up, I prepare to dial the Phonewave.

_ Mayuri! You will not die. I will save you! _

As soon as I finish that thought, a spray of bullets enter the room.

"Ah!"

While I couldn't see it, I knew that Kurisu had just been shot. I feel warm liquid splash on my face - probably blood. Kurisu's blood.

Yet another shower of bullets get shot through the smoke. A sharp pain comes from my cheek - I was probably grazed by a stray shot.

This was no time to wait around. I had to dial the Phonewave now! But as I was about to dial the Phonewave, the smoke started to dissipate. I see that there are yellow sparks mixed in with the blue lightning. Confused, I give the Phonewave a quick examination

…

_ Fuck. _

The Phonewave had been shot several times. Smoking holes appeared on the Phonewave's panel. I could see several frayed wires poking out of the machine. That must have been what was producing the sparks.

"Okabe, what are you doing?! Hurry and time leap! This is no time to second guess yourself!" Kurisu shouts over the roar of gunfire.

She's right. If I don't time leap now then Mayuri would stay dead.

Before I wasted anymore time, I pushed my thumb onto the call button. The CRT downstairs was still on and the discharge phenomenon was active. It had to work.

The world starts bending. I can see the colors in my vision start distorting. It's working!

"STOP!" I see one of Moeka's men rush in the development room with his gun. Through the thinning veil of smoke, I see him raise his rifle and aim it directly at my forehead. His eyes were fierce and determined - I could tell that he was about to shoot me. There was zero hesitation on his face.

Right as I see his finger push the trigger down, the world goes dark.

* * *

…

_ So dark… _

_ So cold… _

_ What is this? Where am I? Where's Mayuri? _

I can't move anything. My whole body is numb. I try to scream but no noise comes out. It feels as if I was being dunked in frozen water. The horrible burning sensation that comes with extreme cold completely overwhelms my head. For some reason, that was the only part that was hurting. Everything else was just numb. Unpleasant tingling sensations run through my limbs.

_ painpainpainpainpainpain it hurts it hurts IT HURTS IT HURTS _

This was hell.

There was no question about it. I tried to defy time and by extension tried to defy God's will. I was probably shot by that guy before I could time leap. My soul was brought to hell for defying God.

Funny how most people think that hell is supposed to be hot. The typical imagery that comes with hell are totems of fire accompanied by screaming souls being tortured for all of eternity. But they were all wrong. Screams and fire does not await those who are damned. Instead, it's a horrible silence and numbing cold.

Stuck in eternity in this void? I guess I deserve it.

Sorry Mayuri.

…

…

…

Then, after what seems like years, the air around me turns warm again. What was happening?

Slowly, sensation returns to my body. The numbness that had sunk into my nerves slowly recede as its quickly replaced by pain. It felt as if thousands of knives were stabbing me over and over again. My head was pounding so hard that I wouldn't be surprised if it suddenly exploded. How could I be in this much pain? Slowly, I opened my eyes. The harsh glare of light burns into my retinas - I was too used to the complete darkness in that _ void _. I find myself staring at my phone.

I'm back at the lab.

The time leaped worked?

"Okabe? Are you okay? You're shivering."

Slowly, I turn my head to the left. Kurisu is staring at me with worried eyes. Seems like the time leap really did work after all, given that she didn't have a bullet wound or blood anywhere on her. She was standing at the entrance of the lab. As warmth returns to my body, the pain finally recedes. Kurisu was right. I was shaking so much that I had even knocked down the Upa pillow that was placed on the sofa.

"N-No… I'm fine. I'm just feel- urp!" I try to say an excuse but a wave of nausea suddenly overtakes me. I jump out of the couch and run to the kitchen. I barely make it to the trash can when I started throwing up my insides. Strangely enough, my headache starts to dissipate as I vomit into the trash can.

"Okarin! What's wrong with you dude? Did you eat some expired food or something?" Daru had been playing a visual novel on his computer. He looks at me over his shoulder with furrowed brows.

"N-Nothing. It's nothing." I manage to choke out. Blinking rapidly, I pull a handkerchief out of my coat pocket and wipe my mouth. "What's the time and day?"

"Huh?" Daru manages to look even more perplexed. "What does that have to do with anyth-"

"Just tell me damn it!" I need to know how much time there was left before Moeka and her men attacked again.

"Well, it's the 13th, a little past 5."

Alright. If that was the case, I only had a few more hours until Moeka and her Rounders break into the lab. I needed to find Mayuri before the deadline came up. I bring my phone up to my ear and dial Mayuri's number.

"Tutturu! Mayushii here."

I hear Mayuri's cheerful tune on the phone. The voice brings relief to my mind. She was safe. I had a second chance.

"Mayuri!" I shout. "Where are y-"

"But I can't answer the phone right now."

Shit. It went to voicemail.

"Mayuri. Call me back as soon as possible, alright? Please." I must have sounded pretty desperate because Kurisu narrows her eyes at me. Even if I didn't sound desperate, I was admittedly acting pretty weird so I guess it was understandable.

"What's going on Okabe? Is Mayuri okay?" Kurisu starts to question me. I had no time for this.

"You two, get out of the lab. Go back to your houses or hotels or whatever and stay there until tomorrow." I spit these words out and ran out of the lab as fast as possible, much to the confusion of Daru and Kurisu.

I have to save Mayuri! If I fail again, I would have to time leap again.

I would really prefer not to jump into that void again… but if I failed, then I would have no choice but to time leap again. But I wouldn't fail. This time, I had an advantage. I know what Moeka would do and when. I should be able to prevent Mayuri from dying this time.

As I steel my resolve, I walk towards Yanabashi Shrine. Rukako and Mayuri were close friends, so perhaps Rukako would have seen her at some point.

_ I will keep Mayuri safe, no matter the cost. _


	2. Chapter 1

_I will keep Mayuri safe, no matter the cost._

My thoughts repeated in my head over and over again, like a broken record. Why? Why did it happen again? I could feel my heart sink as I stared at Mayuri's lifeless body. The white van that ran us over opened its door. Of course, it's Moeka that stepped out. Who else would it be? She killed her on the first timeline, and she killed her again in this one. Sorrow and rage washed over me once again as I see Moeka walk towards me._  
_

Moeka, Mayuri's murderer. Twice now.

"... Okabe Rintarou, scured. Contact the police. Shiina Mayuri is dead." Moeka mumbled into her phone. At that moment, I hated everything about her. Her stupid, pensive eyes. Her whispering, emotionless voice. I hated it. All of it.

"Why? Why did you kill her?" I ask. My voice was dry and scratchy.

"Because you ran away." Moeka responds, nonchalantly.

_Damn it_.

Using the rest of my strength, I manage to jump up from the ground. Before Moeka could react, I tackled her with full force. To be honest, it was pretty satisfying to hear her gasp as I slammed her onto the ground. Ignoring the sharp pain in my legs and lungs, I carried myself to the lab so that I could time leap again.

I failed. Mayuri was dead. But that didn't matter - I have the power of time on my side.

* * *

I stumbled in front of Mr. Brauns Workshop, sweating and out of breath. I didn't see Moeka chase me, but she could have called for backup. I knew that at any moment, a new group of people with guns could show up. Then, it would all be over.

Thankfully, the shop was closed. Consdering what I probably looked like at the moment, Mr. Braun would probably start bombarding me with questions that I couldn't answer if he saw me.

As I opened the door to the lab, I was relieved to find that no one was here. It seemed that since Mayuri and I was running around outside, the Rounders hadn't decided to raid the lab yet... unless they already did?

The thought sent a jolt through my heart. It would make sense. They were only here for the time machine, right? So maybe...

I run to the development room, my heart pounding in my chest. I practically tear the curtains open, and...

Nothing. The Phonewave was still there, in pristine condition. Thank god. I set up the time leap machine to go to the 11th instead of the 13th. I needed as much time as possible. With an extra 45 hours to save Mayuri, there would be no way I could fail. I should be able to save her for sure this time.

I put the headset on and actiavte the Phonewave. Blue sparks start to fill the room.

I dial it from my phone and mentally brace myself for the cold.

I wait.

...

But nothing happens. I didn't feel anything - not the distortion, nausea, freezing cold, the void, anything. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was still standing over the Phonewave. The blue lightning was still flashing, and the room trembled around me.

"What the hell?" I said to myself. This wasn't good. Why am I still here?

Once again, I inputted the settings into the Phonewave and reactivated it. A sense of undeniable dread begins to fill my body. I could feel panic start to set in as I dialed the Phonewave again.

...

Nothing changed.

Nothing.

No.

"No!" I slam the top of the Phonewave with my fist, wincing slightly from the sudden pain. "NO NO NO!"

The phonewave must be broken. But how? Why?

Suddenly, I remember something from the previous timeline.

_The Phonewave had been shot several times. Smoking holes appeared on the Phonewave's panel. I could see several frayed wires poking out of the machine. That must have been what was producing the sparks._

No. That couldn't be it, could it? That didn't even happen in this damned timeline! There is asbolutely no reason why the Phonewave should, or _could _be damaged right now... unless the Rounders snuck in here and destroyed the Phonewave instead of taking it? Or maybe it somehow carried the damage from the last timeline over?

Wait, no. None of that makes any sense. Stealing the Phonewave so that they could time travel themselves is the reason why Moeka raided the lab in the first place. They wouldn't have a reason to outright destroy it. It couldn't have carried over damage from the last timeline either - this may as well be an entirely new Phonewave. Going back to the past should have reversed any and all damage done to it.

So... why? Has the universe completely forsaken her? Is Mayuri doomed to stay dead forever?

Suddenly, the door slams open, breaking apart my thoughts. I take the headset off and turn around only to be greeted by Moeka, steadily walking towards me. I try to back up, but she grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me away from the Phonewave.

"Ugh!" I grunt in pain as Moeka slammed me into the ground and puts me into an armlock. I couldn't move.

"Your friends have been captured. Give up." Moeka says in her usual listless tone. So even though they got away from the lab, Moeka and her rounders found them anyway. As her words sink into me, I coud feel despair start to claw its way into my heart. I failed to save Mayuri. I failed to change the past. I even failed to save my other friends.

I let Moeka escort me out of the lab and into her van. I knew that there was no use resisting anyway. I lost.

I felt a pair of extremely tight handcuffs snap around my wrists. It was so tight-fitting that some of my skin got caught between the cuffs, causing me to hiss in pain. Still, I didn't protest - I probably would have just been ignored anyway. I felt so powerless.

Moeka opened the back doors to her van and shoved me inside. Since I was handcuffed, I couldn't catch myself. I fell flat on my face. I could feel a cold, dull pain spread through my mouth and nose as I let out an involuntary groan. I didn't even try to get up. It wasn't worth the effort.

I closed my eyes as Moeka slammed the doors shut and got into the drivers seat.

_I'm sorry, Mayuri._

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, Moeka stopped driving. She brought me out from the vehicle and grabbed my wrists. We were in front of a large building, that seemed to be the very description of the word 'nondescript'. There were no windows or signs on it, and it was painted a very dull gray. I looked around - none of the scenergy seemed familiar.

"Come on." Moeka tugged me along to the entrance of the building - two double doors with steel handles.

Is ths where Kurisu and Daru are being held? I'm not sure if I could even handle meeting them right now.

As Moeka dragged me into the building, I noticed that its interior seemed to mirror its exterior. There was barely any decor, save for an analogue clock and a few desks. According to the clock, it wa exactly 11:59. That meant that the ride here probably took over two and a half hours.

"Sit." Moeka pointed at one of the desks. It was a melded combination of a chair and a small table, probably what you would expect to find in a typical middle school. As I moved to sit down, I was suddenly struck by a spell of dizziness. The world around me warped and twisted. Colors started to fade.

How was this possible? This feeling... There was no doubt about it. I'm going through a time leap. But how? The Phonewave was definitely broken. I tried to use it myself.

Moeka tapped on my back. "Hurry up and sit do-"

I didn't get to hear the rest of her words. I time leaped.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, I found myself back at the lab, sitting at the couch. For some reason, I didn't go through the sensation of cold and darkness again. It was weird, but I wasn't complaining.

"What the hell is going on here?" I muttered. I brought my hand up to my head as I waited for the sense of nausea to pass. I brought up my phone with my other hand - it was the 11th, at 3:00 PM. The exact settings that I had inputted into the broken Phonewave.

"Okarin? Are you okay? Your face looks pale..."

Slowly, I turn to my left - there, Mayuri was sitting. Alive, perfectly well, and a look of pure concern on her face. She's alive. I have another chance at saving her. All at once, several emotions course through me - desperation, relief, joy, shock, panic...

"Okarin?" Mayuri stares at me quizzically.

Before I could stop myself, I lean fowards and embrace her tightly.

"Ehhhh? Okarin?" Mayuri sounds shocked, which made sense. I didn't really do things like this often.

"..." I don't respond. I just close my eyes and breathe in. Mayuri is alive again. I have another chance to save her. I don't know why the Phonewave was delayed for so long, but I'm relieved that it worked.

"Woah! Okarin is finally making his move?!" Itaru shouts from the other side of the room. "Go die, normie!"

"Don't overreact, Daru." I say as I pull away from Mayuri. I probably shouldn't have done that. I'm just going to feel more pressure from myself to save her now.

"Woah, are you crying dude?" Itaru blinks and rubs the back of his head. "Uh, you know I was just joking when I told you to die, right?"

I bring my fingers to my cheeks. It was as he said - there were tears. I was crying, huh? I didn't even realize.

"Don't be said Okarin!" Mayuri smiles warmly at me. "Youcan hug Mayushii anytime you need to, okay?"

I nod noncommitally and turn back to Itaru. "Daru, do you know where Christina is?" I had enough presence in my mind to know that getting her help on this matter would probably be a good idea.

"Huh? She's back there with the Phonewave." Itaru says, jerking back to the development room with his thumb. "Don't you remember saying that she was going to upgrade it?"

Something was wrong with the Phonewave. I tried to time leap with it twice, and both times, something unexpected happened. I probably experienced higher shock then I should have while using it, plus yellow sparks were appearing. And during the second leap, the effects of the time leap were delayed for several hours. Maybe she could fix those flaws if I explained them to her.

I put my phone back into my pocket and went into the backroom. Sure enough, Kurisu was there, tinkering with the Phonewave.

"Christina?"

...

No response. She seemed to have not even noticed I was there.

"Hey, Christina." I take another step forwards and raise my voice. "Celeb 17! The Zombie! You there?!"

...

This wasn't going anywhere. I rolled my eyes and extended my hand out to shake her shoulder.

"Ah!" Kurisu jumped in her seat and dropped a screwdriver that she was holding. She turned around, expresion already filled with annoyance.

"Jeezz Okabe, I told you not to bother me while I'm working! This is important. What do you want?"

"I'm from two days in the future." I deadpan. Better to go straight to the point and not waste any time - I was on a tight schedule. "I used your time leap machine."

Instead of acting surprised, Kurisu just huffed and glared at me. "I don't have time for your delusions right now, Okabe. Can't you leave me alone for a bit?"

... Alright, maybe I should try something else.

"Look, I'm telling you this as Okabe, not Kyouma, alright? Kurisu, just listen to me. This is important."

Kurisu blinks. After a moment she gasped and stood up from the chair. "Wait, seriously? You used the time leap machine? So it worked, right! I knew it! Wait, why did you time leap? Did something happen?"

I took a step back as Kurisu starts bombarding me with questions. I guess trying to act serious was enough to convince her that I wasn't lying. Just a second ago, she was calling me delusional. Honestly, I'm surprised that she could be so quick to change her mind. "You sure turned around quickly, huh?"

Kurisu pauses her overflow of questions and glares at me. "Well, if you're willing to throw away your udmb mad scientist persona, then this is probably a serious issue, isn't it? Just get on with the explanation already.

"Fine, fine." Taking a deep breath, I started with my recount of everything that happened, starting with the first time leap. This was going to take a while.

* * *

"... And then, I suddenly time leapt after several hours of delay. So here I am." I exhale and shake my head. It took around fifteen minutes to finish up the entire story. It seemed so surreal, retelling it all. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't experience it myself.

Kurisu stayed quiet throughout my entire explanation, save for some occasional mutters.

"I was thinking that either the Phonewave somehow leaped in time itself, or that it was built with a malfunction in place. That would explain why it broke in both world lines."

"Both of those explanations are impossibe." Kurisu says, dismissing my concerns with a simple wave of her hand. "I wouldn't mess this up and the time leap machine can't transport objects."

"Are you serious? How can you say that stuff so confidently?" I challenge.

Kurisu rolls her eyes. "So, when you FIRST used the time leap machine, the blue light appeared as normal, correct?"

I nod my head.

"But after being shot, it started producing yellow sparks, indicating damage. if I messed up on the time leap machine, it would have been sending out sparks even before it was shot. So I didn't mess up. And it's impossible that it could have carried over damage in thef irst place. I tcan only carry over data, remember?"

That... was true. I'm surprised that I dnd't realize it sooner. I guess I just had other things on my mind.

"Alright, get out of here." Kurisu abruptly interrupts my thoughts.

"Huh?" I blink. What's with this woman? I pour out an eitre story about time travel and Mayuri's death, and she doesn't even spend more than two minutes to try and figure it out?

"I need to finish the time leap machine! We can discuss this later. Just get out of here for now." Kurisu huffs.

"Can you at least call me when you finish it? I would like to confirm that it doesn't somehow end up damaged."

"Whatever. Just get out of here." Kurisu sits back down and picks up her dropped screwdriver.

Even If I did question her skills, I wish she wouldn't be so rude. I walk out of the development room and found myself standing in front of Mayuri and Itaru.

"Hey man, you're acting weirder than usual. I mean, I've literally never seen you cry before. Is something up?"

"Maysuhii is worried too..."

I can't let them know about this. Who knows what effects it will have on the timeline if I let Mayuri know about her future death? I can't exactly trust Itaru not to blab to her about it either. Besides, they probably wouldn't be able to do much to help out. They were my friends, but they had limits. There was no use worrying them about this.

"BWAHAHAHAHHA!" I bellowed. "Fear not, my super hacka! The organization just slipped some drugs into my food! That display was naught but a sham put on by the organization in order to disrupt our work flow and lower team morale! Forget everything you just saw! It was just a foolish attempt at sabotage."

Daru's face dropped. "Anddddd, he's back to normal. It was kind of refreshing for you to be normal for once, you know?"

"Don't overdo it, okay Okarin?" Mayuri smiles at me gently, seemingly unphased by my over the top words.

I walked past them and sat down on the couch. There wasn't much I can do while waiting for Kurisu to finish her upgrade. Perhaps I should have just leapt to when it was finished instead.

At least I know my priority. After she finishes, I _will _save Mayuri.

I couldn't possibly fail now, could I?


	3. Chapter 2

_I'm trapped._

_There's no escape._

I fall deeper into despair as these thoughts cover my mind. It latched onto my mind like a parasitic cloud, sucking away any hope I might have held. I could feel the cold sweat rolling down my forehead, leaving behind trails of burning frost. I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer. Already, my legs were trembling, threatening to betray my body by collapsing. My arms were getting more sore by the minute, and it felt like that at any minute, they would snap in two.

But I had to keep going. There was no choice. I had to save her…

_Mayrui!_

I let out an involuntary groan as the weight shifts in my arm. This was it. I'd failed.

_I'm sorry, Mayrui… I couldn't help you._

"Okarin!" Mayrui pops into my view with a cheerful smile. She happily shoves another bag full of cosplay supplies onto the already gargantuan pile in my arms. "Here you go!"

"Gah! M-Mayuri! I'm already at my limit here!" I snap. "If my arms were to be crushed under these weights, the organization would be quick to take advantage of my state and kidnap me! If both of my arms are broken, then I would be forced to rely upon only my wit to escape their merciless agents!"

"Um, Kyouma?" Rukako taps on my shoulder. With some effort, I manage to turn my head and shoot her a questioning gaze. She had been dragged along this shopping expedition by Mayuri as well. Even after what surely must have been hundreds, if not thousands of rejections, she still regularly asks Rukako to cosplay. "I can help you carry some of those if you want."

"Ah, Rukako. No, I'm fully capable of carrying these burdens myself. It's no matter." I say confidently. As I say that, some sort of plastic bag filled with pink thread falls from the top of the pile and lands at Rukako's feet.

"Are you sure?"

"... Well, if you're offering, perhaps you could pick that up for me." I say with a red face. "And… possibly carry one or two bags I suppose."

I sigh as Rukako smiles and grabs a handful of bags from my arms. Even though she had volunteered, my pride seemed to have suffered damage anyway, as if I had forced her to help.

Her? No wait, Rukako's a male.

Or, he used to be male. We turned him into a girl with that D-mail, didn't we?

Bah, this is getting too complicated.

"Rukako!" Mayuri skips up and holds a skimpy dress up to her face. "You would look so cute in something like this! Right?"

"Mayuri, it would be embarrassing to wear that in public." She replies with a downcast expression.

"Awww, but you would be so popular!" Mayuri complains. She turns to me with a stubborn pout on her face. "Okarin, wouldn't Rukako look cute with this on?"

"Yeah, sure. Are you just about finished shopping yet? I'd like to have control of my hands again." I say, brushing off her question. Honestly, I wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation. I was just concentrating on not getting heatstroke or dropping anything else.

"Eh? Kyouma you… really think so?" Rukako stares at me with a growing blush.

Then, I realized what I had agreed to.

"Oh, that is… ah, I mean…"

"Cute is Justice!" Mayuri chirps.

I sigh. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Look here, Okabe." Kurisu pointed at the Phonewave's inner parts. She had opened a side panel, exposing its components and inner workings, which basically consisted of an ocean of colored wires and circuitry.

She had finally finished upgrading the Phonewave. After she was done, she called me on the phone to come to the lab and take a look at it. I knew that it was impossible for it to be damaged, but I just wanted to confirm it with my own eyes. Didn't hurt to be sure, right?

"I put the finishing touches on the Phonewave. And as you can see, no broken wires." Kurisu said. "Just like I said."

"So this means that it really doesn't carry over damage from timelines." I muttered.

"Again, just like I said!" Kurisu huffs and glares at me. "Are you saying that you didn't believe me?"

"Hey, I'm just telling you what happened!" I protest. What was with her anyway? "It's not like I wanted you to be wrong or anything."

"It was probably just unfinished in the previous world line. You rushed me out of the lab, right? I was probably planning to double check the Phonewave, but couldn't and missed something." Kuirsu says with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, what I really want to talk to you about is Mayuri. Does she really die today?"

I put both of my hands on the table and take a deep breath. Again, I was forced to realize the grim truth of this situation. "If this timeline is anything like the other two, then yes. Moeka and her men will break into this lab at around eight and shoot her. I've tried taking her away from the lab, but Moeka finds us anyway! She just… dies."

Suddenly, I hear a loud clanking noise outside.

"Huh?" I rush to the window. There, I see Suzuha on the ground with her bike next to her.

"Suzuha?"

Her pale face meets mine. She's trembling.

_Crap. She must have heard me._

Before I could say anything else, she suddenly picks up her bike and speeds away! She didn't even look back.

"Wha- Hey! Suzuha, wait!" I shout after her. But it was no use. She was already almost out of sight, just a shrinking dot.

I curse and run out the door to chase after her.

"Okabe! What happened? What are you doing?!" Kurisu shouts at me.

I didn't have any time to waste, so I ignored her question. Judging by Suzuha's reaction, she must have overheard me talking about Mayrui's death. This was all too suspicious. It was already obvious that Suzuha wasn't who she said she was - Being able to disarm those armed men, and claiming that Kurisu's a SERN spy was enough to raise my suspicions. If she knew something that could help our situation, then I had to go after her.

As I run in the direction she went, I pull up my phone and hastily scroll to her name in my contacts. Perhaps if I called her, I could convince her to talk to me.

…

She picked up!

"Suzuha! I need to ask you something!" I shout while running.

"Okabe… I'm sorry." Suzuha says softly. "It's probably my fault."

"What?"

"It's because I depend on you guys… So I'm going, this time for sure. Bye."

What the hell is she talking about?

"Wait, Suzu-" She hangs up on me. I guess I have no choice but to chase her after all.

* * *

Finally, after some running around, I noticed that the satellite on Radio Kaikan's roof was glowing. There were revolving lights on. Several onlookers were pointing at it and gasping in surprise.

Was she in the satellite? In a previous timeline, Suzuha had ran away just like this time during the rain. Right after she did, the satellite had vanished. That could have been written off as a coincidence, but it was happening again. There's no way this was unrelated!

Wait a minute. She's also related to John Titor, wasn't she? Suzuha said that her father went by the name of Barrel Titor. The same last name as Titor…. What if…?

Was the satellite actually a time machine?

Empowered by these thoughts, I rushed into the building. I have to stop her before she travels through time!

Since everyone was distracted by the lights, I managed to get to the stairs easier than expected. Jumping up the stairs three steps at a time, I quickly make my way to where the satellite was. On the 8th floor, there was a silhouette moving around inside of the satellite.

"Suzuha!" I shout.

It stops moving. After a tense pause, the silhouette starts making its way out.

"Okabe…" Suzuha stares at me with dejected eyes. She was crying. Her fingertips were red and swollen.

"What are you doing?!"

"It won't move." She won't meet my eyes. Black smoke trails out of the inside of the satellite. I could smell the aroma of fire even from meters away.

"Suzuha, that's… That's a time machine, isn't it? You're a time traveler."

Suzuha nods. "Yes. I'm… John Titor."

"I thought John Titor was a guy?" In my shock, that was all I could really think to say. I instantly regretted saying something so dumb.

Suzuha smiles sadly. "I guess you could say that it was a part of my disguise."

"Why do you need a disguise?"

Her smile quickly turns into a frown. "I'm hiding from SERN."

"Was the stuff you posted about true?"

"Yes." Her frown deepens. "Well, most if it. I really did come from 2036 in this time machine."

"Didn't Titor - Erm, you say that the time machine was a Chevy?" I decided to ask her about Titor's claims from 2000.

I've been thinking about that since you emailed me about this supposed 2000 Titor. That was probably me from a different world line. The me that you're seeing didn't stop at that time."

"Answer me this, Suzuha. Why did you rush to the time machine? I know that you overheard my conversation with Kurisu, but…"

Instead of responding Suzuha asks me about it. "Is it true? Does Mayuri really get killed by SERN?"

I nod. "It's true. The raid should begin in about five hours. I time leaped from the future."

"Time leap… So you guys completed your machine." She looks at me thoughtfully.

"More importantly, why do you think that this is your fault?" She probably didn't inform SERN about our whereabouts or anything, so she shouldn't bear any responsibility for the raid on our lab… right?

"I'll tell you everything." She says grimly. "You and Makise Kurisu."

I don't know why she trusts Kurisu all of the sudden, but as long as he tells me what's going on, I wouldn't complain.

I notice her burnt hand and offer her a handkerchief.

"... Thanks." Suzuha smiles."

"It's nothing. Let's just get back to the lab. Then, you can tell us everything."


	4. Chapter 3

***A/N* Info dump!**

* * *

"I came from the future, 2036. In that era, SERN's ruling dystopia eradicated all strife, but also stole away all personal freedoms."

Back at the lab, Suzuha explains about the future she came from. According to her, SERN rules over the world due to their monopoly on time machines.

"Diss-tope-ear?" Mayuri stares at Suzuha quizzically. As expected, she was having trouble understanding the topic.

"An extremely regulated society. Totalitarianism. So even if you wanted to eat a banana, you wouldn't be allowed to if it wasn't a banana eating day. If you eat one then you get put in jail without a trial. That's a dystopia." Kuirsu helps break down a dystopia for Mayuri. Bananas, huh? Clever girl.

"That's terrible! Mayushi loves bananas…" Mayuri looks devastated.

"I fight to free the world from SERN's rule as part of the Resistance. The reason I time traveled to this era… is to change that 'present'. It's the future for you guys, I guess." Suzuha frowns. "So, change the future."

"What about your father? Are you really looking for him?" Mayuri asks, staring at her with wide eyes. It was a pretty good point. Barrel Titor could just be an excuse for Suzuha. I don't remember anything about a Barrel Titor in any of the posts on channel, anyway.

She tilts her head down, keeping a brief silence. After a moment, she looks back up with hardened eyes. "No. I really am looking for him."

"Getting back on topic…" Kurisu says. "Why would SERN be ruling over the world? They are a research institution, not a governing body. I've mentioned this to Titor online many times."

A lightbulb goes off in my head. What did Kurisu say? Online? That could only mean…

"Christina! Don't tell me… Are you the channeler known as KuriGohan and Kamehameha?" I blurt out.

Kurisu's face turns red, confirming my hypothesis. "I told you, don't call me Chrstina! Besides, if Titor reveals herself, it's only fair that I do to."

I suppose that makes sense. In that case, I better reveal my identity as well.

"Very well. It would also only be fair for me to reveal my alias too! I am the user known as HOUOUIN KY-"

"We know." Suzuha and Kurisu both interrupt me at the same time and with the same deadpan tone.

"Ah, you harmonized!" Mayuri says giddily.

"Anyway, SERN is still a research institution in 2036." Suzuha says, driving the discussion back on topic. "But they have a backing group known as the _Council of 300_. They are the ones who pull the strings.

"What? The C-Council of 300?!" I stammer That was the same name that appeared in the SERN documents!

"With that said… " Suzuha sharpens her gaze at Kurisu. "Makise Kurisu, in the future, you are revered as the Mother of the Time Machine."

"What? Revered?!" Kurisu asks in disbelief.

"After finishing the Time Leap machine, the Kurisu in the future greatly contributes to SERN's efforts in making a time machine." Suzuha continues.

Ah. If the future Kurisu worked with SERN, then that would certainly explain Suzuha's innate hatred for her.

"So what about me?" I ask.

"Okabe Rintarou is a fairly infamous terrorist who fought against SERN." She replies casually.

"Seriously? A terrorist?" That's pretty disappointing. Though, being a terrorist against SERN _does _sound pretty cool.

"I participated in SERN's time machine development? I don't believe that. SERN carried out human experimentation, you know. I have no intention of collaborating with such a disgrace to the scientific community." Kurisu says with venom. She really sounds as if she hates SERN.

"Well, that's how it goes in the future." Suzuha says coolly.

"What does the future me talk about?" Kurisu presses.

"We never met. By 2036, you're dead."

"What? Seriously? I don't even make it past fifty?" She looks crestfallen.

"If it makes you feel better, Okabe is dead by 2036 as well."

"You can't just drop that bombshell out of nowhere!" I snap, glaring at Suzuha. I could have lived without knowing when I drop dead.

"Sorry." Suzuha softens her gaze. "As for why Kurisu works with SERN… Well, it's possible that theft ook your parents hostage."

"No way." Kurisu pales.

I nod. It seemed pretty plausible that they would be able to do that. I've seen firsthand how many men they had. "They probably have Rounders stationed in both America and Japan."

"Rounders?" Daru asks with a questioning look. Surprisingly, he had been quiet for the whole time we were talking.

"SERN's mercenary group, I think."

Suzuha nods in affirmation. "Their cover is a technical investigation group, independent from SERN. Though inr reality, they are the ones who do the dirty work for them."

"Hey, earlier you said that most of the stuff you posted as John Titor was true." Kurisu suddenly says. "So what parts were false?"

"Well for one, the structure of the world. It isn't the many-worlds or Wheeler theory. By 2036, the official structure for the world are more like attractor fields."

That's right. Titor told me about this over the mail.

"What does that mean?" Kurisu asks.

"The world is made of attractor fields and world lines." Suzuha says, taking a red yarn ball out of Mayuri's costume sewing set. She holds one end of the yarn and drops the ball on the floor. She stretches out about a meter of the yarn in front of her face to show it to us. "The world structure is like a piece of yarn. The entirety looks like one piece, but at the micro level, the world is organized like intertwined threads. And at the end, those fine threads converge into one. The paths are different, but the ends are the sa-"

"Isn't that determinism?" Kurisu interrupts.

Suzuha huffs, visibly annoyed at being cut off. "Kind of. You could say that it cherry-picks from the many-worlds interpretation and the Copenhagen interpretation."

"Does this mean that at the end, there's only one possibly future?" Realization dawns upon me. If that was true, then…

_Is Mayuri fated to die?_

"Exactly. And the different colored yarns are different attractor fields." SUzuha holds up a bundle of colored yarns, also from Mayuri's sewing set. "Each has their own respectful world lines. Say, the one we are in is attractor field Alpha."

"In Japanese please." Daru scratches the back of his head.

"It's kind of like fate. In each world line, there are different choices you can make, but they all enter the same ending. But if that's true, then is the future unshakable?" I'm unable to keep desperation out of my voice. This can't be true, can it?

"As long as you stay in the same attractor field, then the future can't change. In order to change the future, you need to travel to a different attractor field, say attractor field Beta." Suzuha says.

"Won't you be interfered with?" Kurisu questions.

"Attractor fields completely diverge. But if we travel right as they diverge then we could do it. I was taught that in 2010, there was a large crossroads in the divergence. An earth shattering divergence, on par with ones that appeared in 2000 and 1991."

"Um, why 2000 and 1991?" Mayuri stares at Suzuha with fascination. I'm kind of surprised that she was able to keep up at all with our conversation.

"Global scale events happened in those years. And there's also one that happens in 2010."

"Events?" I ask.

"In 1991, it was the collapse of the USSR. In 2000, it was the Y2K problem." Suzuha explains.

"Hey, wait a sec." Daru raises his hand. "The Y K wasn't anything special. It was just a bunch of hype that turned out to be nothing."

"It wasn't an issue in the alpha world line. But it was a problem in others." Suzuha says. "And in 2010, the event was the creation of the time leap machine."

"Are these world lines parallel?" Kurisu asks.

"No. At the end, they just happen to exist at the same time. This means that normally, you wouldn't be able to observe changes in the world lines."

She frowns. "So how…?

Suzuha points at me. "Okabe, for whatever reason, has the ability to observe the passage of time."

"Reading Steiner…" I mutter.

She nods. "You have the power of a god. You are the key to saving the world from SERN's rule."

A sudden rush of adrenaline shoots through my heart. It felt like every single hair on my body was standing up, as if I was shocked. "I…"

Meanwhile, Kurisu seemed to be much less excited. "Seriously? _Okabe?_"

"I-If I change the world line, does that mean… She can be s-saved?" My voice is trembling from excitement.

Suzuha nods.

"Hold on a sec. This all seems a bit too detailed. This isn't some sort of delusion or anything, is it? How do you know everything about this?" Kurisu asks. She does have a point - Suzuha almost knows _too _much.

"It's not a delusion. All of this info was written in my father's will."

"Barrel Titor?" I ask. Just who in the world is her father anyway?

"Yes. I'm here to fulfill his last wish." Suzuha averts her gaze. "Anyway, I believe the main cause for SERN noticing you guys, is the first email you sent back in time."

"So, it wasn't that they caught us hacking?"

"Dude, no one can catch me hacking." Daru puffs out his chest. "I'm a super hacker after all!"

Mayuri gasps. "Wasn't that mail the one that said Kurisu dies?"

"Ah." Kurisu sighs. "I almost forgot about that."

"SERN has a worldwide network called Echelon to catch any email that has any mention of time travel. They probably caught yours with it all the way back then."

Echelon?! I've heard about that on conspiracy forums. So, it really does exist?

"In order to hack into the Echelon and delete any traces of your email, you need the IBN 5100." Suzuha continues. "Their database is constructed using it."

"Damn! Daru, why didn't you use the IBIN earlier?!" I almost pound my fist in frustration. All of this could have been avoided if we had just done that first!

"What are you talking about man?" Daru shakes his head. "We never had an IBN 5100."

"Huh? But I brought one here earlier." But as I say that, I remember about the fact that I'm probably in a different world line then when I got one.

Suzuha clears her throat. "My role is to obtain an IBN 5100 for you guys. Unfortunately, I don't have one at the moment. I was supposed to go to 1975 to get one, but I stopped here to look for my father. Unfortunately…"

"Your time machine broke, right?" I glance at her burnt hand. Small specks of blood are visible on the handkerchief I gave her.

"Can you fix it?" Kurisu asks.

"No." Suzuha says sadly. "My father built it all on his own."

"What about the Time Leap machine then? Leap to before it broke." Kurisu suggests.

"Woah, hold on. Didn't we say that we weren't going to use it?" Daru asks.

I still haven't told Daru I've time leaped. Trying to explain it now would be a pain. "If it's an emergency, we'll use it."

"It probably broke when it rained from the other night. The interior was soaked, even though it's supposed to be air tight." Suzuha says.

"Was it damaged from the crash?" Daru ponders.

"No. WHen I time traveled, the coordinates were a bit off. So the satellite just… appeared there."

"It rained on the 10th. The Time Leap machine can only go back 48 hours at a time. So this means that we can travel back far enough." I shake my head. "So, time leaping is out of the question."

"I can try to fix it!" Daru pumps his fist. "I could probably get the thing up and running."

"Our deadline is three hours." I sigh.

"Oh." Daru slowly lowers his hand, dejected. "That may be an issue then."

I pull a 10,000 yen bill from my wallet and hand it to Daru. "Go shopping for a bit with Mayuri. Bring back some food."

"Huh?" Daru stares at me suspiciously. "That's pretty sudden. What's the big deal?"

"Just do it." I say firmly.

"Fine… Come on Mayuri." Daru rises and stumbles towards the door.

"Oooh! Mayushi is going to get some bananas." Mayuri cheerfully trails after Daru.

I waited until they closed the door. Then, I explained my plan to Kurisu and Suzuha. "Alright. In order to give us some more time to repair the time machine, I'm going to time leaap to the 11th. Better 2 days than 3 hours, right? THen, Suzuha will be able to get an IBN for us."

Kurisu nods. "Sounds fine to me."

"Alright, let us commence the operation." I started towards the Time Leap machine.

"Hey, not gonna name this one?" Kurisu smirks. "Did you finally run out of Norse mythology?"

"Aren't you always saying the name doesn't matter?" I shoot back.

"Norse?" Suzuha blinks. "Come to think of it, operations in the resistance normally uses German and Norse names. It was always a tradition."

Kurisu shakes her head in apparent disgust. "That hipster stuff still exists even in a dystopia, huh?"

"Fine, whatever!" I clear my throat. "Operation Valhalla begins…"

"Now!"


	5. Chapter 4

_Operation Valhalla has begun._

With the Phonewave, I shall do everything in my power to save Mayuri!

After my declaration, I set up the Phonewave and get ready to time leap.

Before I could put the headset on though, Kurisu pulls me aside.

"What is it?" I ask.

Kurisu hesitates for a bit. "I'm going to give you a passphrase. Use it to convince me that you have time traveled. It will probably save you some time on trying to explain everything to me."

Hmm. Smart idea. Every second counts when it came to this. "Alright, what is it?"

"There's nothing I want more then my own fork." Kurisu murmurs.

"Huh?"

"I already have my own spoon, so..."

Forks? Spoons? What kind of passphrase is this?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter!" Kurisu snaps. "Anyway, just remember that. Something else I wanted to discuss with you is the Time Leap machine."

"What about it?"

"Well... Just be careful alright? It may be dangerous to use it multiple times. Who knows what effects time leaping has on your brain?"

I suppress a grin. "Worried about me, Chrstina?"

"N-No!" Kurisu stammers. "I'm worried about Mayuri, not you! What if you time leap back, and your brain gets incinerated or something? Then, no one would know about SERN's raid." Kurisu huffs and turns around. "Just go already."

I nod and put the headset on. I initiate the Time Leap machine and dialed the Phonewave.

...

...

...

Nothing.

The room is vibrating. There's blue light flashing everywhere. And yet...

"You gotta be kidding me." I take the headset off and groan.

"Huh? Is there something wrong?" Kurisu turns back and looks at me with worry in her eyes.

"It didn't work. I'm still here." Turning off the Phonewave, I make my way back to the main room. I needed to gather my thoughts.

"Is it being delayed again?"

"Who knows? We'll have to just wait for a couple hours and see." Hopefully the delay won't be as long as last time. I don't want to see Mayuri die again.

Kurisu stares at me for a bit. "I'll re-examine the Phonewave. Maybe I missed something" she says thoughtfully.

Could it be broken after all?

Suzuha stares at us in shock.

"Your time leap machine won't work?" Suzuha's face turns pale. "Does that mean..."

"Last time it did this, it was just delayed for a few hours. I can only hope that the situation is the same. If it truly does not work, then there's nothing we can do." I bury my face in my hands.

_Fucking Phonewave..._

"I'm sorry. It's my fault, I should have time traveled when I had the chance." Suzuha stares at the floor.

"Do you really think that? I'm the one who convinced you to stay in the first place." If anything, I was the one at fault here.

"And I was the one who let you convince me!" Suzuha glares at me stubbornly.

Arguing about this is a waste of time. I should probably just let it drop.

"Whatever. I'm going to see if I can catch up to Daru and Mayuri."

Suzuha looks at her phone. I recognize it - A 1998 Nokia model. For being from the future, it's pretty strange for her to own such an old phone."There are only a few hours until Mayuri..." She pauses.

"Yeah. Don't need to remind me." At the very least, I'm going to spend her last hours with her. I owe her that much.

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I bump into Mayuri and Daru as they are walking back into the lab.

"Tutturu!" Mayuri waves at me as I approach them.

"What's up Okabe?" Daru looks at me suspiciously. I can't really blame him as I sent them out of the lab without any warning. Mayuri on the other hand, remains oblivious to my ulterior motive.

"Back at the lab, my Assistant and the Part Time Warrior seem to be able to handle themselves. Therefore, I have decide to grace you two with my presence, for the time being. Rejoice!" I gracefully raise both of my arms.

"So in other words, they didn't really need you at the lab and you got bored."

"Ack!" Damn it Daru!

"It's okay Okarin! You can help hold Mayushii's bananas." Mayuri happily drops a bunch of ripe bananas into my hands.

Ah, how carefree you are Mayuri. I feel a twang of empathy from my heart. Why does she have to die in this world line? Why does she have to die in ANY word line?

I let a grin spread through my face. "Ah, yes. These will be of the utmost importance to our experiments! Great work Mayuri."

"Ehhh? You're still making gelnanas?" Mayuri pouts at me.

I dramatically raise my eyebrows. "But of course! We must continue to experiment without remorse if we going to take down the Organization!"

"You're crazy dude." Daru shakes his head. "You didn't need to come out here and find us. We are only 5 minutes away from the lab anyway."

"Exactly! Organization agents are bound to be hiding near our lab. I'm escorting you through the most dangerous part of Akihabara!" Inwardly, I winced from how close to the truth my words were. SERN Rounders are likely stationed near our lab at this point.

"Let us proceed to the lab, my comrades! We shall cook up a feast fit for the gods! That is the will of Steins;Gate." I announce before marching forwards, Mayuri's bananas in my arms.

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I slam open the door, Daru and Mayuri closely following. "We return with sustenance!" I declare proudly.

"We return with 12 bottles of Dr. P, a 6-pack of cup ramen, and 3 bundles of bananas." Daru clarifies.

"Hey, pass a bottle here!" Suzuha rushes up to greet us.

"Okabe, come here." Kurisu's voice calls from the backroom.

Did she find something wrong with the Time Leap machine after all?!

I quickly drop Mayuri's bananas onto the table and rush to Kurisu.

"Is it brok-"

"No."

Or not.

"Then what's wrong?" I question.

"Nothing. In fact, it's supposed to work perfectly. I double checked, triple checked, quadruple checked, and nothing. There isn't anything to indicate that it would be broken enough to delay itself for several hours."

"So why?" I try to think up of a reasonable explanation but nothing came to mind. What the hell is this?

"I have one plausible theory."

"Which is?"

"When the Time Leap machine started malfunctioning the first time, you said that he shock felt much higher then the second time around, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"And the second time leap was delayed for a couple of hours... Delayed until midnight. In other words, delayed until the instant it turned into the 14th."

"..." Confused, I stayed silent. What was she insinuating?

Kurisu turns and looks at me directly in the eyes.

"What if the malfunction put you in a time loop?"


	6. Chapter 5

My mind takes an unnaturally long amount of time to process what Kurisu had just said.

_Time loop...?_

A time loop.

What?!

"H-How can you be sure? I've only time leaped twice!" I shout.

"I'm not sure. But if the time leap is delayed until midnight again, then it's certainly possible isn't it?" Kurisu shoots me a questioning glance.

"If I'm in a time loop then..." I gulp. Would that mean that I would be forced to relive the same days over and over again?

"Relax. There's probably a solution to getting you out. Even if you can't time loop, I still can. Plus, sending a D-mail would put you in a new world line. You aren't trapped." Kurisu does her best to assure me.

But still, what if I still end up trapped in a time loop forever? A chill runs down my spine.

_An eternal nightmare._

"Here's what I would like you to do. Wait until midnight and see if that's really the deadline. If so, wait for the deadline again. But this time, don't use the time leap machine."

"O-Okay..."

Kurisu checks the time. "According to you, Mayuri's going to die soon. A raid by gunmen?"

"Yeah. You should probably get to your hotel. I don't want to see you die to." Already, flashbacks of Mayuri's lifeless corpse fill my mind.

_Her dull eyes..._

_The bullet hole in her forehead..._

_Her cold body..._

"Okabe!" Suddenly, an extremely loud voice chases my thoughts away.

"Huh?" What the? Kurisu just yelled into my ear!

"What's the big deal?" I grumble.

"You were shivering again. Get a grip Okabe! Mayuri needs you to stay undistracted."

I look down at my hands and sure enough, they were trembling. Kurisu is right. I need to get a hold of myself, for Mayuri's sake.

I sigh. "You're right. I'm going to try and get Mayuri out of here. I know it might be a meaningless task, but I can't just let her die again!"

Kurisu nods. "Right. I'll get back to my hotel. Try to convince Daru to get away from the lab as well, will you?"

"Yeah."

Kurisu glances at Suzuha. "I should explain this to her to."

As I walk back to the main room, I spot Mayuri eating a banana. Daru, as usual, is playing an H-game on his computer.

"Daru!"

Daru jumps in his seat. As he pauses his game, he turns around on his chair to glare at me.

"What do you want Okarin?"

I move next to him began the situation to him, in a low voice so that Mayuri can't overhear.

"Daru. I'm tellin you this as Okabe Rintarou, NOT Hououin Kyouma. Understand?"

Daru straightens up, staring at me with wide eyes."

"It's better if you don't know the reason, but you have to get out of here. Stay at your house, or one of your secret bases. Just get out of the lab." I look into his eyes.

Daru scratches his chin. "Better if I don't know, huh?"

I nod.

"Alright. I don't know what's going on, but I'll trust you Okarin."

I sigh in relief. Good, that takes care of that.

"What about Mayuri?" Daru glances at her.

"I'll take care of Mayuri. Just get out of here. I've already explained this to Kurisu as well." Kurisu had just about finished talking to Suzuha.

I walk up to Mayuri and grab her arm.

"Eh? Okarin?" Mayuri looks up to me with questioning eyes.

"Follow me Mayuri. Don't ask anything, alright? I'll explain when I can." With that said, I drag her out of the room.

Who knows? Maybe I can get her somewhere safe this time.

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_Wrong._

I stand in front of the train, frozen in shock.

Right next to me, in Mayuri's place

stands a familiar girl.

Around elementary school height.

Innocent features.

Carrying a lovely black rabbit pouch.

Tennouji Nae.

Wide eyed, with trembling lips, she slowly looks up to me.

"Mayuri... I wanted... to surprise... her... It wasn't on purpo... it... wasn't..."

At a loss of words, she turns away starts running towards the exit stairway. I barely notice. My head is pounding. Already, tears threaten to spill out of my eyes.

I don't want to see it.

I don't want to see it.

I don't want to see it.

I don't want to see it.

I don't want to see it.

I take a peek in the gap between the train and platform anyway.

_..._

Then, I start screaming.

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"Gah!"

The effects of the time leap starts fading away. Sure enough, it turned midnight before I time leapt. I recall Kurisu's instructions.

_"But this time, don't use the time leap machine."_

Okay. Find out if I'm in a true time loop. If I am in one, escape the time loop. Then, save Mayuri.

But if I wait... Then I will have to see her die again.

"Okarin? Are you okay? Your face is pale…" Mayuri looks at me worriedly, again.

"I'm fine." I muster up a smile.

Since I'm 2 days into the past, then I should try to start the repairs on the time machine as soon as possible. If Suzuha gets the IBN 5100, then I won't have to go through this song and dance again.

I barge into the backroom and shook her shoulder again

"Ah!" Kurisu quickly turned around with a gasp, again.

"Jeez Okabe, I told you not to bother me while im working! What do you want?"

"I come from 2 days in the future, Suzuha is also from the future, specifically the year 2036. The satellite on the Radio building is her time machine."

Kurisu glares at me... again.

"I don't have time for your delusions right now, Okabe."

This is gonna get old real quick.

"You gave me a passphrase, so I won't have to waste time explaining everything to you again."

Kurisu raises her eyebrows.

"Alright, what is it?"

"There's nothing you want more then your own fork. And you already have your own spoon."

"W-Wha-What?!" Kurisu blushes.

"Did I really tell you that? Damn it future me!"

"I still don't know what it means."

"And you won't know what it means! Ever!"

"Anyway, I need as much time as possible so I won't give you a full explanation. Mayuri is fated to die at 8:00 PM on the 13th. Either by a raid from SERN, or some other inescapable reason. I'm possibly in a time loop, and to know for sure, I won't use the time leap machine. If I time leap at midnight on the 13th, then I'm definitely in one. Suzuha's time machine is broken. Daru is going to fix it." That should cover all of the important points.

"You talk way to fast, Okabe. But I guess I get the general gist of it. But I still have some questio-"

"As long as you get it." I nod and then walk out to find Suzuha, ignoring Kurisu's protests. She can ask me all the questions she wants when I get Daru to start working on the time machine.

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I take a sigh of relief as I collapse onto the couch. I promised to help Suzuha with the search for her father, but I still needed a break.

Suzuha and Kurisu both demanded me to answer their questions so the explanation took longer then expected. By the end of it all I was practically gasping for air. I suppose I can't blame them for questioning me though. Curiosity is a prevalent trait in humans after all.

Daru said that he might be able to repair the time machine. If he can fix that thing in two days, then that would truly be a miracle.

My mind wanders to Moeka. Could I stop the lab raid if I tried to deal with her beforehand...?

Maybe I could try to steal her phone and hold it hostage or something. She's extremely obsessed with it, after all.

I shook my head. Moeka is a trained Rounder. She wouldn't give up her phone without a fight.

I decide to take another look at the pin Suzuha showed us. Taking the photocopy out of my pocket, I try to decode the series of letters on it.

_OSHM***A 2010_

Nothing pops up when I try to search for it. What could it stand for...?

I get up from the couch and stretch my back. I shouldn't be lazing about like this. Badge vendors... There should be plenty in Akihabara.

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I spend a full day running around with Suzuha looking for any vendors that make custom accessories. I must have encountered at least 30, and none of them recognized the pin at all!

Just as I'm about to call it a day, Suzuha points out one more vendor who we haven't visited. He probably doesn't know anything, but I guess it won't hurt to ask.

As we approach him, the man looks at us expectantly. For an awkward moment, none of us say anything.

The man looks nothing like a Japanese person, so he's likely foreign.

Hmmm. Alright, English it is.

"HEY, MASTER. I AM MAD SCIENTIST. SO COOOL. SONUVABITCH!" I throw my fingers in a peace sign, for good measure.

...

"Yes, what is it?" He answers in Japanese.

Oh. I guess he does speak Japanese, even if he is a foreigner.

I take the photocopy of Suzuha's pin badge out of my pocket.

"Does this look familiar to you?"

After the foreigner stares at it for a while, he does an exaggerated gesture typical of westerners, shrugging his shoulders while shaking his head.

"I want to know its source. Can you check it?"

"Re... remember, remember? Hmmm, sorry, its little diffecult..." He says in a strange manner.

What is he saying?

"By the way, where did ya get this thang?"

"That's what I want to know. I'll compensate you."

"I sorry."

He apologizes in strange Japanese. So, apparently, there's no information in this stall either, huh... For now, I give him my contact address and ask him to tell me if he finds out anything.

"Okabe!"

Suzuha was standing next to a fence, with two drinks in her hand. At first I think it's Dr. P but upon closer inspection, it turns out to be the inferior cola.

I shuffle towards her. Even if it is cola, I need a drink. This day was wearing me out and I still needed to meet up with Mayuri and the others.

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Radio Kaikan's house is practically boiling. I can't help but feel deep sympathy for Daru. He has been working all day in this heat.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything to offer him as a reward for working except for the cola that Suzuha gave me.

"Hey Daru. You want the rest of my cola? It's still cold."

"Ooh Okarin! An ice cold zero calorie cola. How thoughtful!"

Daru happily takes the cola and chugs it straight from the bottle. Daru and Suzuha have a one-on-one discussion about the time machine's structure, while Mayuri and I watch from a distance.

"Hey, hey, Okarin. That satellite was a time machine. What a surprise, huh?"

"Yeah."

"It stuck into the building, but I'm glad that Suzu's safe! She said it's really hard to drive. If the gravitational whatchamacallit device gets the coordinates the slightest bit wrong, the whole time machine becomes a Jellyman."

"A Jellyman?"

Mayuri bobs her head up and down. "And since the machine isn't made by SERN, she said it's not all that stable. I'm worried about when she goes to 1975... If it's a two-seater, then I could go with her."

"What would you do if you could go with her?"

"Well, I would hold her hand and tell her it's okay because Mayushii's here!"

"..." I'm left speechless.

Mayuri would travel through space and time just to comfort her? Mayuri really is pure. Perhaps too pure for her own good.

"Hey hey, Okarin! Do you think the time machine has a name?"

"Well why not ask John Titor directly?" She's still talking to Daru inside of the time machine.

"Ah, right! Mayushii forget. Ehehe..." With that, Mayuri skips her way towards Suzuha, and then back to me.

"Yup! It's name is FG204... something something! Mayushii forgot the rest."

FG204? The name strikes a chord inside of me but I don't quite know why.

"Hey Mayuri, want to get a closer look at the time machine?"

Mayuri perks up. "Yup yup!"

As Mayuri moves ahead to approach the time machine, Suzuha moves next to me, taking her place.

"Your friend sure is amazing. With Hashida working on it full speed, it might be fully fixed by tomorrow, if things go well." Suzuha stares at the setting sun.

"Well, he is a super hacka, and my right hand! Of course he would be able to fix the time machine."

Suzuha nods. "Um, Okabe?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really grateful to all of you."

"Oh?"

"When I came into this timeline, I didn't know anybody. Everything was so strange to me... The most shocking thing to me was how peaceful everything was, believe it or not." Suzuha pauses to catch her breath.

"But, I met friends here. You, Mayuri, Hashida, Tennouji... I even started to accept Kurisu. You all made me very happy, y'know? I admire you guys. I wanted to be more like you guys."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're plenty amazing on your own."

Suzuha smiles. "Thank you, Okabe Rintarou."

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"Okabe Rintarou, I'll give this to you. You can just place it somewhere in that lab."

Suzuha places the pin in my hands.

"You're leaving it with us?" I'm surprised that she would leave one of the only reminders of her father behind.

Daru clears his throat.

"About the pin... What do you say about duplicating it? Maybe we could all have one, each of us lab mems."

That... was an unexpectedly good idea. Since when did Daru become so sentimental?

"Wah, that might be really good!" Mayuri gushes.

"That's oddly thoughtful of you." Kurisu smiles.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Ahaha... Thinking about you guys using it like that somehow embarrasses me." Suzuha says with a slight tinge on her cheeks.

"Anyway, we already took a picture of it, so keep that badge. It's your old man's precious memento, right?" Daru says.

"...Right. I guess I'll keep it then."

Wordlessly, I gave the pin back to Suzuha.

"Hey, heeey! Dahdahdahda-h. Mayushii's got an important announcement to make!" Mayuri announces, hands on her hips.

What? An announcement? Mayuri looks oddly confident.

"Mayushii found Suzu-san's father!"

What?

"Huh?" Suzuha gasps in shock.

Daru and Kurisu stare at Mayuri with surprise.

"Wanna meet him? You wanna meet him right? Well good news! He's right here!"

We all start looking around, for a hidden figure on the roof. But no one is here besides us.

"Come on Mayuri, don't keep us in suspense." I tell her.

"Alright! Suzu's father is..."

"Daru!" Mayuri points at Daru with flair.

...

After some awkward silence, we start laughing.

"Ehhh? Why are you laughing?" Mayuri pouts.

"That logic is unacceptable even as a joke. It's impossible for this pervert to get married in the first place." Kurisu scoffs.

"Hey... That hurts ya know?"

"Wait! Mayushii has proof!"

Proof, huh?

"Alright, what's this proof?" I look at Mayuri expectantly.

"Well one thing, the name of the time machine! F, G, 2 0, 4... Um..."

"... 2nd Edition ver.2.31." Suzuha finishes.

"Yeah! I was thinking that FG stands for Future Gadget! Plus, it sounds like something Daru would come up with, doesn't it?" Mayuri chirps.

I stare at Mayuri, 's right! Only one person would give it such a ridiculous name!

"There's more, to! The badge has the letters OSHM***A in it, right?"

"Have you figured out what that stands for?!" I practically shout.

"Okabe, Shiina, Hashida, Makise, Amane! I don't know what the stars are for though..."

"It was so simple..." Kurisu has her mouth open in shock.

"Suzuha's father is a member of the Future Gadget lab... He had enough technical know-how to create a time machine in the first place... And he names his inventions long and complicated names?" I sum up.

"One more thing!"

"T-T-There's more?!" Daru opens his mouth in an exaggerated matter.

"Suzu's Father's name is Barrel Titor."

Kurisu's eyes light up. "You asked me what barrel was in Japanese, right?"

"Barrel means Taru!"

"Taru... Daru?!" You have got to be kidding me. It's a pun?

"Also also!" Mayuri turns her attention to Suzuha.

"Say 'Hashida Itaru' ten times fast!"

"W-Why?" Suzuha's face is as white as a sheet.

"You'll know if you say it!"

"HashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaruHashidaItaru..." Suzuha drones on.

"Just now! Didn't you hear Ditor?"

Mayuri's right. Barrel Titor was just two puns.

"Really...?" Daru stares at Suzuha.

"Augh... Amane... Is my... Daughter?!" He flaps his lips like a fish out of water.

"...Father."

"Uh... In times like these, call me Papa." Daru mumbles.

Kurisu glares at Daru. "In times like these, stop being a pervert."

"I came... So I could meet you, father... I came riding on the time machine you made..." Suzuha starts crying.

"... Yeah."

"I'll be sure to accomplish what you tried to do, father..."

"... Yeah."

"I'll watch. I absolutely will."

Suzuha walks up to Daru and hugs him.

Daru awkwardly catches her in his arms.

"B-By the way..." Daru starts stuttering. "Was your mother cute? I'm thinking a short tsundere with incredible proportions..."

"Heh, that's a secret." Suzuha winks at Daru.

Suzuha seperates from Daru. "Well then. With this, all my regrets for this world line are completely cut away... I should get going."

"What?! So soon?"

"W-Wait! Amane!" Daru shouts. "If you go then..."

Suddenly, Suzuha stiffens.

"It's my mission, father. I have no choice."

"But... you won't be able to come back!" Daru suddenly blurts.

What?

Daru starts clenching his fists.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

We all stare at Daru with wide eyes.

"..." Suzuha doesn't say anything.

"The.. The time machine..." Daru gulps.

"It can only travel to the past."


	7. Chapter 6

"S-Suzuhas time machine..." I stammer.

"Can only go back in time?" Kurisu finishes.

What kind of half assed time machine can only go in one direction?!

Suzuha glares weakly at Daru. "I told you to not tell anyone!"

"I think they deserve to know. Besides, circumstances change. I mean, you're my daughter now." Daru says in a low voice.

"Wait. So if Suzu goes back in time... She will be trapped there?!" Mayuri cries.

"It's my mission! I need to do it. Besides, it won't be forever."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, just several decades of waiting!"

Suzuha looks at me angrily. "You of all people should know why I have to go back in time!"

I wince. That was true... She needed to do this for Mayuri's sake.

"Um... Okarin of all people?" Mayuri glances at me.

"It's nothing."

"Please. I want to change the future. I don't mind being stuck in the 70's if it means freeing the world from SERN's grasp."

"But..." Daru starts.

"No but's dad!" Suzuha approaches the time machine. "I'm going now, okay?"

"... Alright." Daru says with a defeated look.

"By the way, the time machine lets loose extremely bright UV lights. It would be best to not look at it directly." Suzuha says with a smile.

With that final warning, Suzuha boards the time machine, quickly closing the hatch after waving her hand. Her figure disappears. The machine soon activates. The revolving lights attached underneath the fuselage light up.

Shrill alarms start ringing.

The people walking underneath the building start cheering and screaming at the abnormality of the satellite. Everyone looks up and points.

I notice I got a mail from Suzuha, and hurriedly open my phone.

"Thanks. Goodbye"

Suzuha's last message.

The air around the time machine starts to warp.

A cocoon of light appears, enveloping the fuselage. I squint my eyes at the brilliance...

_"Suzuha..."_

We can no longer meet her. No, maybe we can. We're no doubt going to meet each other again.

But between us is an immense wall of time. No matter how much we pray, no matter how much we wish, no matter how much we shout... when we meet again, she won't be the girl I knew.

Unexpectedly, Daru takes one step into the light.

"Su-Su-Suzuha!" Daru stammers. "Be sure to meet us again!"

"I'll do my best until then! I, I hate my meager vocabulary for not knowing any other way to say it, though! Anyway, I'll do my best... So Suzuha, do your best, too!"

Those words probably won't reach her. Within that brightness, all I can do is block the light with my hands.

While shining particles fall, the cocoon slowly, slowly comes undone...

Then, it vanished.

Nothing remained except for a gaping hole in the side of the Radio Kaikan building.

Peeking through it, I can see Akihabara Station below. I can smell ozone due to the discharge of static electricity. The atmosphere undulates in waves, as if increasing in density.

For a short while, we silently stand in the summer breeze, as if the wind were fate itself.

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We had no time for sentimentality.

In just about an hour and a half, Moeka's group is going to attack the lab. Before then, we need to retrieve the IBN 5100 that Suzuha leapt back to 1975 to obtain. The area surrounding Radio Kaikan is in chaos because of the satellites dissapearance, so it was easy to slip out.

Suzuha said "let's meet in 35 years". Most likely, the 54 year old Suzuha saw the current ruckus and realized her younger self had traveled to 1975. In that case, she'll come to the lab with the IBN 5100. That's how things will go.

However...

We waited outside of the lab...

and waited...

and waited...

Nothing. No middle aged lady came anywhere close.

Concerned, I decided to check the divergence meter.

...

... Divergence hasn't changed. That's expected, since I didn't feel Reading Steiner at all.

Divergence should've changed the instant Suzuha obtained an IBN 5100 in 1975. Or maybe the timing of the value change is different than what I thought. Maybe it's the instant Suzuha hands me the IBN 5100? Maybe it's the instant we hack SERN again and delete the mail data with our new IBN 5100?

At any rate, all we can do is hope for the now 54 year old Suzuha to bring us the IBN 5100.

"By now, Suzuha's turned 54, right?"

Daru, who had been hyperventilating as soon as we neared the lab, whispered this as his breathing calmed down.

I nod.

"My daughter is more than 30 years older than me. I don't know if I want to see that or not. Feels weird man."

"On the contrary, it wouldn't be weird if she married and had grandchildren." Kurisu smiles.

"S-So basically, I could have great-grandchildren at this age? I don't know how I should feel..."

"I think you should pretend to be a great-grandpa!" Mayuri says cheerfully.

Then, a knocking came from the door.

_Suzuha!_

54 year old Suzuha came to visit!

I look at everyone's faces, half in expectation, half in anxiety, and open the door.

Standing there is...

Tennouji.

A muscular middle aged guy, completely different from an older woman.

"Hey Okabe."

Unable to keep the disappointment from my face, I grumble.

"Oh, it's you."

"Hey, have you seen my part timer?" Tennouji asks while looking around the room.

Mayuri perks up. "If you're looking for Suzu, she went 35 years-"

"Shut up, Mayuri!"

I block Mayuri's mouth.

Tennouji raises his eyes. "Ya know anything?"

"She said she went back to her old home. I guess she's not coming back here."

Whaat? Is that so? That brat... She didn't say a word to me, her employer..."

The future changed... That's what I think. At this day and time, Tennouji has yet to come visit our lab. It might be related to Suzuha's trip to 1975. I think it's a good sign. Now, as long as the attractor field doesn't amend history...

Tennouji stops looking around the room and turns to me.

"Whatever. That wasn't the reason I visited you."

Tennouji puts on a serious face as he hands me an envelope. It's addressed to Okabe Rintarou, so me. There's no stamp or postmark.

"Hm? What's this?" I ask, confused.

"A letter from a person who I was indebted to. She asked me to give this to you today."

"Eh...? Who's... it from?"

"That's what I would like to ask you about! How do you know Suzu-san?"

I'm taken aback when Tennouji pronounces that name. Suzu-san? Suzuha?

"Where is this woman now?" I ask excitedly.

"Huh? No, she isn't here. She passed away 10 years ago." Tennouji said with a dark look.

_She passed away...?!_

"...How old was she?"

"Not more than 50."

The age matches perfectly.

"Thank you so much for passing this over, Mister Braun!" I bow deeply.

"Stop calling me Mist-" Tennouji stops and shakes his head. "You know what? Forget it. See ya."

As soon as he leaves, I tear apart the seal and take the letter out impatiently.

Inside is a letter written in not quite legible writing. The handwriting is unstable, as if her hand were shaking. Everyone stares holes into the letter's contents.

_To Okabe Rintarou_...

_It's been a long time. It's Amane Suzuha. Hashida Titor's girl. For you, it might just have been a few hours ago. Right now, it's AD 2000, June 13th. Meaning it's about 10 years before you'll read this._

_I'll just write the conclusion._

_I failed. I failedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailed._

_I remember I was me just a year ago. The day the Great King of Terror came from the sky. Stupid stupid what's the Great King of Terror he should have come down from the sky._

_For these 24 years, I had lost my memories. All I could remember was my name. I remembered just a year ago. The day the Great King of Terror was said to come down but didn't. The Great King of Terror's nowhere to be found, but I want to die._

_The imperfectly repaired time machine malfunctioned and when I leapt to 1975, I couldn't remember anything. When I remembered it, my mind went blank and I didn't know what to do and I got institutionalized._

_Now I'm living alone, but that's as the brand new person, Hashida Suzu, living an ordinary life. Last year I remembered my mission as Amane Suzuha that I had completely forgotten._

_FailedFailedFailedFailedFailedFailedFailedFailedFailed Fail._

_For some reason, the time travel went badly Father's repair was incomplete but it's not Father's fault it's my fault. I should've leapt directly to 1975 I shouldn't have stopped over at 2010 I shouldn't have been so selfish now the future won't change._

_I couldn't get an IBN 5100._

_I'm sorry._

_I'm so sorry._

_Why did I live this long?_

_I forgot my mission, and just lived carefree._

_This life was meaningless._

_Meaningless. Meaningless. Meaningless. It's bad that I remembered. It's good that I remembered. It's good that I could apologize to you. ForgivemeForgivemeForgivemeForgivemeForgivemeForgiveme._

_My plan failed. I kept thinking about the cause for this entire year._

_Then I figured it out. If I didn't hesitate just one day to leap to 1975, this wouldn't have happened._

_Okabe Rintarou. After that time machine offline meet, I tried to leap to 1975 but you detained me. I was really happy about that, but detaining me there was where it all failed. I should have leaped on that day. I shouldn't have missed that day. Since you detained me, the time machine broke from the rain that night._

_If I could turn back time, I wouldn't have let myself get detained that day. Because then I could've gotten you guys the IBN 5100. I could fulfill my mission. I want to fulfill my mission._

_Because I promised father._  
_Because it was father's will._  
_Because I want to change the future._

_I'm sorry._  
_I'm sorry._  
_I'm sorry._

_This life was meaningless._

The last word trails off the paper.

Putting more strength into my grip, I inadvertently start crumpling the letter.

What's with this letter filled with despair...?

She said she failed? She said she lost her memories? She said the time machine wasn't properly fixed? She said she couldn't get the IBN 5100? She said her life was meaningless?

This... this is...

The other lab mems stand around, speechless.

Especially Daru, whose face had turned pale, as if his previous excitement was a lie.

"Daru, didn't you... fix the time machine...?"

"It-It should've been fixed... It should've, but... I mean, that was my first time repairing a time machine... I may have overlooked something..."

"Overlooked?! Because of that, your daughter lost her memories for 24 years!"

That's right. Calm down, you two. Itaru did everything he could. Your anger is misplaced."

"How can you be so calm?"

"That's how I am. Sorry about that. Just calm down."

"Ack..."

I knew. I understood that Daru did nothing wrong. Nothing about this was his fault.

But, still... This end is just too much...!

Just what was Suzuha feeling when she wrote this letter? With wavering writing, wretchedness. With a smile, longing. But that was beyond her power. 10 years ago, Suzuha breathed her last breath.

...Why did she pass away? Don't tell me...

Unpleasant thoughts cross my head. That's right, Tennouji might know the circumstances.

I jump up and rush out of the lab, flying down the stairs.

Perfect timing. Tennouji had just finished closing up his shop.

"Mister Braun!" I shout.

"Oh, Okabe. That Radio Kaikan satellite disappeared. Everyone's in an uproar."

That doesn't matter right now.

"More importantly... please, tell me..."

"Hm? What?"

"Hashida Suzu... how did she die?"

"...Why do you want to know?"

Suddenly, Tennouji glares at me with sharp eyes. I take that glare straight on.

"I... knew nothing about her death, until now. I need to know about her last moments. That's what I feel. I must. I need to engrave her last moments... into my heart..." I sputtered.

"...It doesn't look like you're just curious, but let me ask you one more time. How are you related to Suzu?"

"...An old acquaintance."

That's all I could answer.

"She's a very old acquaintance, but I still clearly remember the time I spent with her... So tell me... please..."

"I don't really want to say it, though... Listen closely to what I'm about to say. Okay?"

I timidly nod. The truth he tells me...

Tennouji takes a deep sigh and puts a hand to the back of his head.

"Suicide. At home, she hung herself. I was the first discoverer."


	8. Chapter 7

_She hanged herself._

I fell to my knees.

Suicide.

That word weighs heavily into my heart, almost breaking it.

_My life was meaningless_

_Failure_

_I'm sorry_

Her last words of despair.

Her words of self-loathing.

"About a year before that, she was quite mentally unstable. Until then, she was a bright, gentle woman. I lodged at her house... Suzu had no relatives, and not many people came to her funeral. She was lonely..." Tennouji continued.

"A week before she died, she handed me the letter and told me to give it to a man named Okabe Rintarou on this date. When you moved in upstairs, I thought she must have really been ps-"

"That's enough. Please... stop." I croak miserably.

I stand up, almost stumbling and falling back down.

Tennouji's gaze hardened. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he shook his head and went back to closing the shop.

"Okarin, are you okay?"

A small shoulder supports my body.

It was Mayuri. She's overdoing herself, even though she has no strength. I wonder if Mayuri heard the story too. Her eyes are moist. But even though her lips are wavering, she carries herself firmly. Again, I'm reminded of how strong Mayuri really is.

Mayuri and I lightly bow to Mister Braun and return to the lab.

When we get back, Daru is sitting in front of his computer, though it was turned off.

Kurisu is standing while watching the news on TV. The excited reporter is in front of Radio Kaikan. The disappearance of the satellite became huge news.

Nobody says anything. Only the sounds of the TV resound. I look on top of the table again.

The divergence meter on the table hadn't changed.

What went wrong? I can't go back 10 years with the Time Leap Machine. It's impossible to do anything about Suzuha's death. I shouldn't have let her go to 1975 after all. Then this tragedy would have happened.

But... I compare the alternative again. If Suzuha doesn't leap to 1975, Mayuri can't be saved.

Maybe I could go back in time and try to get Daru to fix it properly this time? But it might not be possible to have it fully repaired. Daru is a mechanical genius, but if even he can't fix it, it might not be possible. It may be unreasonable to expect him to be able to fully repair the time machine.

In that case, can I have Daru use the Time Leap Machine an endlessly repeat those two days until he perfectly repairs it?

... No. Even with the mental advantage, without any physical progress, it would be for nothing.

I sit down on the couch and bury my face in my hands.

Mayuri sits next to me, gently rubbing my back. I am thankful for her concern.

This was written in Suzuha's letter: _If I could turn back time, I wouldn't have let myself get detained that day._

My D-mail caused this.

If I didn't pursue Suzuha.

If I didn't send that D-mail.

Suzuha would have safely gone to 1975 in her unbroken time machine.

So the obvious solution here would be to cancel my D-Mail. Perhaps I could send a contradicting D-Mail?

But, is that okay? If we don't detain Suzuha, isn't that the same as undoing the four days we spent together?

That Suzuha and I wandered around searching for the pin badge.

That Suzuha said she was thankful for being a lab mem.

That Suzuha reunited with her father, Daru.

Canceling the D-mail means erasing all of those facts.

Suddenly, an emergency report flashes on the screen.

"A terrorist threat?" Mayuri asks, worried.

I have no time to think. Moeka's men will attack at any moment now. I have to cancel that D-Mail!

I rush downstairs, kick open the door, and turn on the 42 inch CRT. Then, I return to the lab and face the Time Leap machine.

"Okabe, what are you doing?" Kurisu asks anxiously.

I freeze.

_What was I doing?_

I was supposed to refrain from using the time leap machine.

But... Was using the D-Mail function the same thing?

I take a second to rethink things. If I was in a time loop, then this would reset anyway and give me more time to think.

If I wasn't in a time loop, then things would stay this way. With Suzuha's life wasted, and Mayuri dead.

Better to be safe then sorry. I'm going to cancel my D-Mail.

I prepare the mail on my phone.

_Cancel Pursuit. Last Mail=SERNs trap_

"Kurisu, remembering dates is a specialty of yours, correct?"

Kurisu blinks. "Well I wouldn't call it a spe-"

"As long as you can remember, tell me when we first held Suzuha's encouragement meeting?"

"August 9th." She says with no hesitation."

"Okarin, are you sending a D-mail? But if you do that, everything's going to disappear, right?"

That I walked around Tokyo with Suzuha looking for the pin badge. The memories Suzuha told us about. The father and daughter reunion derived from Mayuri's detective work.

But the alternative, is that Suzuha's life would stay wasted. Forever.

I know this. But it's the only thing I can do!

I set the microwave's timer to 120 hours.

I activate the Phonewave. My fingers hover over the send button.

Kurisu and Mayuri both look at me with expectant looks.

I send it.

...

...

...

_What?_

Nothing happens.

The world doesn't warp. I feel perfectly fine.

Reading Steiner doesn't activate.

"Did it work?" Kurisu asks, confused.

"Why..." I feel my hands shaking.

Time Leaps won't work.

D-Mails won't work.

"Why doesn't it work?!" I scream.

"Okarin!" Mayuri cries.

"Reading Steiner didn't activate?"

"No... And now, Suzuha's life will be wasted... And Mayuri will..." I gulp.

Then, I hear the door slam open. They're here.

"Don't move. Where are your friends?" I hear a low voice ask.

"What's going on?" I hear Daru exclaim in surprise.

"Daru?" Mayuri timidly approaches the other room.

"Mayuri! Don't go there!" I pull Mayuri back.

I grab Future Gadget #4 as fast as I could and activated it. White smoke fills the entire room.

"Hey!"

"What is this?"

Shouts of confusion fill up the other room. I readjust the Phonewave's settings to prepare for a time leap 2 days ago.

"Whaaaaaaat's Happppennnninnnnggg!?" I hear Daru's exaggerated cries fill the room.

With the smoke and blue crackles filling the air, I feel a slight sense of déjà vu.

"Kurisu!"

"H-Huh?!"

I shove the headset towards the general direction of her voice. "I'm stuck in a time loop. I can't change anything Kurisu! You need to time leap."

"Wh-What? But..." I hear her stutter.

"There's no time! At the very least, prevent Suzuha from wasting her life!" I shout desperately.

After some slight hesitation, I feel Kurisu take the headset from me. "Okay. I'm going to call the Phonewave."

"Stop them!" I hear another voice ring out.

_Bang Bang Bang!_

A burst of bullets enter the room. I hear a body fall down.

I don't even need to check to see who was shot.

_Mayuri..._

"Ah!" I hear Kurisu yelp.

Was she shot?

"Kurisu! Are you okay?! Hurry, time leap!"

"I just did! I.. I wasn't shot. I just felt a sharp pain in my head. I think I time leapt..."

What was happening? I'm still in the lab. Nothing had changed.

I slam my fist onto the table in frustrtation

"Why does nothing work?!" I rage.

As the smoke starts to dissipate, I hear several footsteps come closer.

"Hands up. Back away from the device."

Looking up, I see the barrel of a gun pointed to my forehead.

"Okay okay! Just... Don't shoot." I hear Kurisu take off the headset.

"Don't look at the floor, Kurisu." I say miserably. At the very least I don't want Kurisu to see Mayuri's corpse.

But of course, right as I say that she looks at the floor.

"Oh my god... Mayuri." Kurisu's face quickly turns pale.

"Come with us." Two burly men grab our arms and drag us out of the room. I notice that Daru wasn't there. He probably had been captured already.

I close my eyes in concentration.

The only way to try and redo this was to hope that I really was in a time loop. If the Time Leap machine really was delayed, then that might explain why Kurisu didn't notice any change. Though another possibility is that Kurisu simply does not have Reading Steiner, and therefore can't notice any change to the world line.

Just like last time, I was cuffed and had a bag put on my head.

Just like last time, I was thrown into the back of a vehicle.

But this time, Kurisu joined me.

"Ugh!" I hear Kurisu grunt as she fell down.

"... You okay?" The question tumbles out of my mouth without any emotion.

I hear some scuffling as Kurisu scrambles to sit up.

"I'm fine. What about you?"

_Why would I be fine...?_

"Mayuri died... Again." I feel less sorrow about it this time, however. The sight of her dying again and again has numbed my soul.

"Y-Yeah." I hear Kurisu start to sob. "She... They shot her."

"The ride will take a couple of hours. I suggest you get comfortable"

"How can you be so calm?!""

"That's how I am. Sorry about that. Just calm down." I almost chuckle as I use Kurisu's own quote against her.

The irony makes me want to vomit.


	9. Chapter 8

Minimal differences.

Despite having Kurisu with me on the ride, nothing really changed. On the way there, we didn't really talk much. Kurisu spent the whole ride silently mourning Mayuri. I had to many things on my mind to try and initiate a conversation.

_Sending a D-Mail back in time didn't change anything. Neither did having another person time leap._

Horror starts to slowly seep into me. If I really am stuck in a permanent time loop, then that would be...

An eternal hell.

There's no way that I'm mentally strong enough to be in this loop. Seeing Mayuri die over and over and over...

No one could stay sane through that.

I didn't try to use the time leap machine for myself this time though, so who knows? Though I know that the chances are slim, maybe time will just go on as normal.

We stopped in front of the same building, at the same time.

Moeka leads us both in front of the same group of desks.

11:59 PM.

"It's almost midnight." Kurisu whispers worriedly.

I nod.

Suddenly, the world starts to warp. Clenching my head, I stagger.

And just like that, my hopes are crushed.

"I didn't even use the time leap machine... Why is this happening?" I groan.

"Time leap?" Moeka questions, grabbing my arm.

"Exactly."

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I'm back.

Again.

Shuddering, I put my phone back in my pocket.

_This may be a problem._

I suddenly stand up. Suzuha was the only other time traveler I knew. I pray to whatever cruel god exists that she would have an idea on how to release me from this time loop.

"Okarin? Are you okay? Your face is pale…" Mayuri looks at me, concern growing on her face...

Again.

This was going to get old, quick.

"Perfectly fine. I'm going out." I say quickly.

As I rush down the stairs, I see Suzuha doing maintenance on her bike.

Suzuha's face brightens up when she sees me. "Okabe Rintarou! What's up?"

"Suzuha! I need your help right this instant!" I grab her arm and dragged her to a nearby bench.

"Hey wait a sec! Let me finish up on my bike!" Suzuha whines, staring longingly at her bike.

Can't she take her attention away from that damned bike for a second?

"I'm from the future! I know you are as well!"

Suzuha's gaze suddenly darkens. "..."

"Let me explain, alright?"

Keeping quiet, Suzuha slowly nods.

And with that, I start explaining my entire situation. How I'm in a time loop, losing Reading Steiner, Mayuri's fated death, and even Suzuha's suicide.

"Nothing I've tried so far worked. I'm still in a time loop, which restarts me back to this time after it turns midnight on the 13th." I sigh miserably. "You're the only time traveler I know, so... Is there any way to break the loop?"

"Before that..." Suzuha shifts around uncomfortably. "Do I really fail my mission? And hang myself? Because of my lost memories?"

I wince. "Yeah."

Suzuha's eyes glaze over. She appears to be in deep thought.

...

"I have an offer for you, Okabe Rintarou." Suzuha finally says.

"Hm?"

"Time travel with me. Come with me to 1975."

"What?!" I leap out of my seat. I definitely was not expecting that.

"Traveling to a different time should break the loop, right? It would transport you to a different time. Plus, Reading Steiner doesn't need to activate in order to see changes while time traveling."

Time travel back to the 70's with Suzuha?

"But... Won't I loose my memories to?"

Suzuha slightly tilts her head. "Maybe. But with you with me... Then maybe our memories would come back faster. Besides, if you tell Hashida Itaru about this, he might be able to fix the issue."

"..." I stayed silent as I pondered this choice. Would this really break the time loop?

"Please, Okabe. I don't want to time travel back knowing that I would just fail anyway. It would be a pointless death."

"Physically time traveling back to the 70's... Finding the IBN 5100..." I mused.

It's certainly tempting. I have nothing to loose anyway. Going back 25 years, even with memory loss is definitely preferable to being stuck in a loop forever.

"I will. I'll go back to 1975 with you!" I make up my mind.

Suzuha let's out a small grin. "... Thank you."

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"Okay! It should be fully repaired!" Daru exhales, relieved.

Daru stretches, throwing an empty bottle of cola to the side. The bottle joins the graveyard of around 10 other empty bottles.

"Thanks Dad!" Suzuha slaps Daru on the back and starts to inspect the time machine.

"It's still weird hearing you call me that..." Daru scratches the back of his head uncomfortably.

Suzuha looks at me and gestures with her head.

Right, time to break the news.

"I'm going with her." I announce abruptly. "I'm going back to 1975 with her."

"What? Don't be ridiculous. Why would you do that?" Kurisu glowers at me.

"Ehhhh? Okarin is going back in time?" Mayuri gasps.

"WTF Okarin?! Don't tell me this is just an excuse to be with my daughter! As a father, I will not let you do this!"

"The truth is..." I take a deep breath.

"I'm stuck in a time loop."

"..." The other lab mems stare at me in shock.

"For one, I know the outcome of Suzuha's mission. And believe me when I say that it isn't favorable."

Daru straightens up. "Wait, Suzuha fails?"

"Secondly, I've already tried sending D-mails, time leaping, and even letting other people time leap. Nothing broke me out of the time loop."

Kurisu looks at me curiously. "How many times have you looped?"

"If I counted correctly, this is my 6th time leap." 6 time leaps.

This was my 6th time re-experiencing the same few days over and over again.

Though there are differences, I've noticed things a couple things that repeat during each leap.

Kurisu stares at me for a second more before turning away. "Well, I have no objections."

"I object!" Mayuri raises her hand. "I don't want Okarin to leave! Mayushii will be lonely...

Mayuri looks so sad that it almost breaks my resolve.

_No stop it! You can't hesitate now!_

"Mayuri. This is for your own sake as well."

"Whaaa?"

"Trust me, okay? I'm going to 1975 for everyone's sake." I can't even look at her in the eyes.

"T-Then... Let Mayushii come with you Okarin! Mayushii is your hostage... I should follow you!"

Suzuha shakes her head. "There's not enough room for 3 people."

Mayuri looks crushed.

"Okarin..."

"Mayuri, please." Of couse, I'm going regardless of Mayuri's blessing. But I would feel better if I didn't have to leave Mayuri with an argument.

After some hesitation, Mayuri runs towards me and gives me a hug.

"Okay... Mayushii understands." Tears stream down Mayuri's face. "Mayushii will see you again right?"

I nod reassuringly. "I'm going to be older, but I'll come back. Suzuha will to."

Mayuri seperates herself from me. "Okay." She whispers lightly.

I turn to Daru.

"I trust you have no objections to me leaving Daru?"

"Yeah. I understand that some things need to be done. Just keep your paws off of my daughter" Daru snorts.

I crack a smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well Okabe? Are you ready?" Suzuha stands near the entrance of the time machine.

I nod, and step towards her.

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"Time traveling can be a bit rough." Suzuha warns me while adjusting some settings on the time machine.

"Alright." I gaze at the ceiling of the time machine, deep in thought.

1975\. That's before I was even born. Back to the past...

No, that's not quite it.

We're on a trip towards an undecided future. Not a world line Suzuha has been to. Not a world line Suzuha has wanted. We're reaching for an entirely new future.

"Ready?"

...

"Yeah."

Suzuha flips some switches. Suddenly, a large rumbling noise fills the time machine.

"Hold on!"

The world starts warping.

My vision turns white.

Is this how it feels to time travel?

...

I feel a familiar sense of vertigo. My entire body shakes along with the time machine.

Then, it all cuts out.


	10. Chapter 9

...

...

...

The rumbling stops.

...

...

...

I smell a familiar smell.

...

...

...

I hear familiar noises.

...

...

...

I open my eyes.

...

...

...

Daru was playing a game on his computer

...

...

...

Mayuri was sitting next to me, humming a soft tune

...

...

...

I hear clinking noises as Kurisu tinkers with the Phonewave

...

...

...

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"

I'm back.

I time traveled to 1975.

I'm back.

I made my goodbyes with everyone.

I'm back.

I rode with Suzuha in the time machine.

I'm back.

"Ah!" I see someone sitting next to me jump. Mayuri looks at me in surprise.

"What the hell's wrong with you Okarin?" Daru was rubbing his chest. "You might as well have given me a heart attack!"

Kurisu runs into view. "What? What happened? Who yelled?"

I can't take this anymore. I jump up from the couch, kicking over the small table in the process.

"Okabe? What-"

"Shut up! God damn it all of you shut up!" I shout out a response before running out of the lab. I know that it was rude, but I don't care.

_I'm still in a time_ _loop._

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I stare up at the sun, squinting against the bright light.

_There are barely any clouds in the sky today._

The hot rays unmercifully roasts my skin. I welcome the hot sensation anyway.

Laying down on top of the Radio Kaikan roof, I try to explore any situation to this time loop, to no avail.

I've tried time traveling, time leaping, sending D-Mails, and even letting Kurisu time leap herself.

The only other possibility of escape left is...

_No, stop it._

I suppress that thought before it could bloom.

_That won't solve anything. Get a hold of yourself._

It's been around 40 minutes since I ran out of the lab. I wonder what they think I've been doing?

_Kind of lost my temper there._ I think regretfully.

I hear the door creak open slowly.

Someone slowly walks towards me. Their shadow casts across my eyes, providing protection against the rays of the sun.

"There you are."

Kurisu.

"You know you're gonna get bad sunburn if you stay out here all day." Kurisu huffs while looking down on me.

"..." Without responding, I sit up.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Just thinking." I avert my gaze from Kurisu's eyes.

"Does this have anything to do with your temper tantrum back at the lab?"

"You could say that."

"Want to tell me what this is all about?"

"Why do you care?" I challenge.

Kurisu sharpens her glare. "I went through the trouble of looking for you! The least you could do is tell me why you're laying down here!"

"Leave me alone. You don't have to look for me. I'm not a lost little boy."

"Jeez, I was worried enough to come look for you and you just..."

Kurisu's eyes widened as she realized what she just said.

"Ah, no wait I wasn't worried..." Kurisu shakes her head. "Ugh!"

After stumbling over her words, Kurisu sighs deeply and puts on a serious expression.

"Just tell me why you look so depressed, will you?"

Slowly, I shake my head.

"Depressed? No. I'm... I'm terrified." I admit, honestly.

"Terrified? The great Hououin Kyouma is terrified?" Kurisu smirks and puts her hands on her hips.

"..." My alter ego was the last thing on my mind right now.

"Come on, Okabe. You look like a kid being forced to eat oatmeal." Kurisu drops her hands.

"Close enough. But I would think that I'm more like a kid that's being grounded by their parents for all of eternity."

"All of eternity, huh? Sounds boring, not scary." Kurisu comments.

"It's both."

Kurisu rolls her eyes, annoyed. "Get to the point Okabe."

"Apparently, I'm stuck in a permanent time loop."

"..."

After that, an awkward silence fills the air.

...

Finally, Kurisu sits down next to me.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I wake up on the 11th at 3:00 PM. As soon as it turns midnight on the 13th, I come back."

"What have you tried?"

"Different time leaps, D-Mails, letting other people time leap, and..."

"And?" Kurisu raises her eyebrows curiously.

"And physical time travel."

"What? How?" Kurisu leans closer to me. "Explain!"

So I tell her. Not only about Suzuha, but about Mayuri's fate and my experiences in other world lines. Everything spills out to Kurisu.

...

After I finish my recollection, Kurisu tilts her head thoughtfully.

"So... The catalyst for all of this is your first time leap? The one you did with the broken Phonewave..."

"Yeah. It seems like that using the broken Phonewave stripped me of my 'Reading Steiner', as well as putting me in this time loop.

"But the time frame for this loop is different then your initial time leap, isn't it? Instead, it uses a time frame from your second time leap."

I stare at her, surprised. That hadn't even occurred to me.

"So, wouldn't it be possible to at least change the times of your loop?"

All at once, I suddenly feel hope return to me. If this was true... I could move forward through time once again.

"... They don't call you 'Girl Genius' for nothing, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point." I reply.

Her face lightly flushes. "I'm just pointing out the obvious!"

I snort. "Obvious to you, maybe. Cut the modesty."

Kurisu stands up and offers her hand. "Come on, Mr. Mad Scientist. Let's find a solution to this mess you got yourself into."

I look at her outstretched hand. Then, to her face. Though those eyes seem calm and uncaring, there is warmth and concern behind them. Her chestnut hair gently swings in the wind.

I grasp her hand and pull myself up.

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I see Daru and Mayuri swing their heads towards me as I enter the lab.

**"Okarin!"** They bought exclaim at the same time.

Daru walks up to me with a stern expression. "What happened Okarin? I don't think I've ever seen you that mad before."

"Yeah!" Mayuri pipes up. "Mayushii wants to know what's bothering Okarin!"

"Gah! It's terrible!" I moan dramatically. "The Organization has sabotaged my secret supply lines! I had 300 kilograms of golden bars on it's way here, to supplement our research funding! All of it has gone up in flames from the Organization's destruction!"

"Come on dude. We're actually worried about you here."

I clear my throat. "Regardless, I apologize for my sudden outburst. I shall take measures to make sure that the Organization doesn't get away with this!"

"As you can see, I managed to find him and drag him back here." Kurisu says from behind me. "Looks like he's back to his delusional self."

"I am not delusional!" I counter.

"Yes you are." Daru snorts.

It seems like my ramblings as Kyouma has managed to cause Daru to drop the subject. Mayuri on the other hand...

"Okarin! Tell Mayushii what's bothering you!" she says, tugging my sleeve.

"I've told you! My 300 kilograms of golden ba-" I start.

Mayuri shakes her head "No! What's REALLY bothering you!"

"I'll uh... Tell you later. I'm fine ok?" In reality, I have no intention of telling Mayuri about my time travel dilemma.

Thankfully, this seems to placate her. "Okay. Talk to Mayushii any time you want!"

And with that, Mayuri sits back down on the couch and starts sewing cosplay costumes again.

"Come on." Kurisu walks to the back room, where the Phonewave is.

"Right." I follow, eager to get myself out of this loop.

"Alright. Now, since you're currently stuck in this time loop, if I fail to find a solution, then just come to me as soon as possible and re explain things. Describe what I did so that I can work with more knowledge. Understand?"

I nod determinedly.

"Good. Let's get started."


	11. Chapter 10

_Time Loop #7_

_Kurisu couldn't finish within the time limit. Rounders raid the lab, interrupting our work. _

_Mayuri died again. She was shot in the head._

_That's okay though, isn't it? We can retry as many times as we want._

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_Time Loop #8_

_As soon as I leaped again, I informed Kurisu about my situation as quickly as possible._

_Since I've seen Kurisu work and brainstorm during the last loop, I'm able to help her out. Things moved along quickly._

_But not quickly enough. Mayuri dies again._

_We fail again._

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_Time Loop #9_

_With even more knowledge this time, surely we would be able to modify the Phonewave in time, right?_

_Nope. Kurisu acts noticeably frustrated at knowing that she had failed twice in a row. She isn't at fault here though. She's only human after all._

_Captured again._

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_Time Loop #12_

_This time, I rent a car ahead of time._

_Kurisu works on the Phonewave in the backseat as I attempt to evade the Rounders._

_In the end, we only get 30 minutes more. Even that isn't enough._

_Still though, I can tell we're making progress._

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_Time Loop #15_

_Based on what I tell her, Kurisu says that modifying the Phonewave to be able to counteract my time loop will take a lot more funding and time then what was possible._

_So I convince Kurisu to go back to America early, and bring the Phonewave along with myself with her. _

_The plane was filled with Rounders._

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_Time Loop #28_

_I win the lottery for first place._

_Using the prize money, I buy the most professional bodyguard team I could afford, as well as supplies to upgrade the Phonewave.  
_

_Unfortunately, winning the lottery brought city-wide coverage. The Rounders where notified way ahead of time._

_We are forced to keep running, heavily limiting the amount of time we have to work on the Phonewave modifications._

_We remain uncaptured for way longer. Long enough to pass the midnight time limit._

_I time leap again._

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_Time Loop #38_

_I spend multiple time loops training myself for self defense. Working out is pretty useless as I don't carry physical traits, but I can still retain knowledge and muscle memory._

_Learning how to shoot a gun and practicing martial arts take up several time loops as I had to restart every 2 days. _

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_Time Loop #51_

_Mayuri doesn't get killed anymore._

_She just collapses, dead._

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_Time Loop #113_

_At this point, I work as faster then Kurisu does. I don't even tell her how many times we have failed anymore.  
_

_Mentally, I'm completely exhausted. I want to give up._

_But I can't give up. This is my only hope. I need to break the time loop. _

_Deep within my conscious, I know it's impossible. Somewhere around the 15th time loop, Kurisu estimates that a project of this scale would take decades to complete. And that would be with a large team and massive funding.  
_

_After all, it's one thing to move through time. It's another thing to manipulate it. The technology needed to manipulate time won't exist for a long time._

_There's no way that Kurisu and I could complete this project within 2 days._

_But still. I can't give up._

_Somehow, I'm able to keep count. 113 times, I've time leaped. 113 times, Mayuri died._

_Terrifyingly enough, I can feel myself getting... bored_

_Running from the Rounders... Trying to save Mayuri... Trying to complete the Phonewave..._

_It's all starting to feel like a game to me._

_A boring one._

_I can't give up. But maybe I can take a break._

_I need a break._


	12. Edge Warning

**A/N: Writing is going to start getting real edgy from here on out.**

**This is just a warning that the M rating is probably going to come into play in the near future.**


	13. Chapter 11

I'm disgusted with myself.

Taking a break from trying to Mayuri? Because I'm bored?

Sickening, I know.

_Still, I can't help it. It was all getting too... too boring..._

113 time loops.

Mayuri has been shot, stabbed, run over by a various number of vehicles...

Bludgeoned, burnt alive, drowned...

Exploded into a pile of guts... Trampled...

I shudder involuntarily. I've found that laying down on top of the Radio Kaikan building is a great way to collect my thoughts. Unfortunately, my mind wanders to the many deaths of Mayuri most of the time.

I've stayed up here for hours at a time before, laying beneath the bright sun. Somehow, I never get sunburn.

I hear the door creak open slowly.

Kurisu slowly walks towards me. Her shadow casts across my eyes, providing protection against the rays of the sun.

Even if I leave the lab without causing a commotion, she comes looking for me anyway.

"There you are." Kurisu says for the umpteenth time.

_How boring_

"Can't you just-" I try to brush her off but something stops me.

"Can't I just... What?" Kurisu stares at me curiously.

_I wonder how she would react if..._

"Nothing. What do you want?"

For the first time in a while, I start to feel something more then anger and sorrow.

Curiosity fills my veins.

I see Kurisu's mouth open. I know what she's about to say.

**"You know you're gonna get bad sunburn if you stay out here all day."** Kurisu and I say at the same time.

...

...

...

"Seriously?!" Kurisu asks in surprise. "Alright, tell me now. How many time leaps have you done?"

Wow. She certainly got the point faster then usual. Usually, she doesn't ask me so bluntly.

I feel a sadistic grin creep up my face. _I'm smiling... but_ _why?_

"How many times, Okabe?"

Adrenaline pumps through me.

_Things are starting to change._

"I may have lost count at some point. 110 time leaps, give or take." I state carefully.

Kurisu's face suddenly turns into a comedic expression of shock.

I feel a jolt of electricity run through my body._ I just caught her off guard._

_This is new..._

_This is new!_

"What..." Kurisu starts. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do 110 time leaps?!"

"Nah, it's not that. I'm just stuck in a time loop with no escape" I wonder how would Kurisu react if I decide to tell her about our failures?

"..."

Now, Kurisu will ask for an explanation.

"I see." Kurisu swiftly stands up. "I'll leave you alone then."

Or not. But I don't mind being wrong. Not knowing what's going to happen for once...

_It's so refreshing!_

"You're not gonna ask for more details?"

"If you've really time leaped that many times, then you're probably tired of explaining things. It won't do much good, so I'll refrain from asking for now." she says, walking away.

This... This was the first time that I've had an entirely unique conversation in a while.

This was the first time that I've felt something in a while.

_I wonder how else I can use the expected to my advantage?_

"You never cease to amaze me Christina."

Kurisu sighs without turning around "I must have told you to stop calling me that thousands of times."

And with that, she takes her leave.

"Well now..." I say to no one in particular. "Thanks for giving me an idea on what to do on my break."

_This could be interesting_

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"Oh, hey Okabe!" Suzuha waves at me as I approach Mister Braun's shop.

"Hey, John Titor." I reply casually.

Suzuha freezes. "H-Huh?"

"Is there something wrong?" I study her reaction with glee.

"You know about that?"

"Well, yeah. I also know that you're from the future, that the satellite is your time machine, and the real identity of Barrel Titor."

Blood drains from Suzuha's face. "What? Don't tell me... You're from the future to?

"You sure figured that out quickly."

"..." Suzuha studies my face with a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Okabe? Your eyes... Those are the eyes of a man close to the edge."

"Oh?" I ask gleefully.

_That sounds pretty accurate._

My heart starts pumping faster. I can feel myself trembling!

_It's so exciting_

"Did you know that your mission ends in complete failure?"

"What? What do you mean complete failure?" Suzuha raises her voice.

"Your time machine got flooded from the rain. We try to repair it but it ends up erasing your memories! You gain your memories after 24 uneventful years..." I take a rasping breath. "You hang yourself. The only reminder of your life is a note filled with despair!"

**_So damn_**_ exciting_

Suzuha backs up from me. "Okabe... What happened to you? You're... scaring me."

_You're scaring me_

When she says that, I freeze up. My breathing mellows out and my body stops shaking.

"What... What am I doing?" I look at my hands horrified.

"What the hell am I doing?!" A loud buzzing sound suddenly fills my mind.

It hurts. My ears are **pounding.**

**the world is warping everything is melting together**

**All of it hurts**

**ALL OF IT FUCKING HURTS**

**"AUUUGHHHHHH" **I **scream** in AGONY!

"Okabe! What's going **on**!?" ਡੈਣ rushes towards me, panic plastered all over her face.

THE WORLD IS MELTING

"ALL OF IT"

_whosscreamingstopscreamingitshurting"myearsimgoingtogodeaf"_

**ALL OF IT**

"THE **FAMILIAR"** COLD "FILLS MY BODY"

**MY NERVES TURN INTO RUSTY METAL I CAN FEEL MY** blood** BOILING BUT ITS SO COLD "WHY IS IT SO **COLD"

**DARKNESS I'M BLIND "I'M BLIND"**

**MY EYES ARE BLEEDING MY PORES ARE excreting "MAGMA"**

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I wake up to the sight of an extremely familiar ceiling. One that's to familiar.

What happened? My memories are fuzzy. I remember meeting Suzuha outside of the lab... Then it cuts off...?

Suddenly, pain shoots through my head. "Ow..."

The sharp, metallic aroma of blood fills my nostrils.

"O-Okabe?" I hear a familiar voice.

Turning my head, I find myself facing...

Suzuha.

"Ummm. Are you okay Okabe?" Suzuha nervously looks down at me.

"Is he awake?" Another voice. It's Kurisu... I think

"Yeah. He still looks pretty weak though."

"Ugh!" I grunt as I pull myself up into a sitting position.

"What happened?"

I see Kurisu sit down next to me. "What do you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is talking to Suzuha. I don't know what about though." I put my hand up to my head, feeling some rough material.

_Bandages? _

That would explain the headache.

"Yeah. You started talking to me about... time travel stuff. Then you went completely bonkers in the middle of it all."

"Bonkers?"

"Yeah, you were so loud that I could hear it from all the way up in the lab. Mayuri and Daru heard to." Kurisu butts in. "You were acting like a lunatic even more then usual."

"Does this have anything to do with my head injury?"

Suzuha winces. "Yeah. I tried to calm you down but you pushed me away and starting banging your head against the brick wall. Blood went everywhere."

I was banging my head against a brick wall?

"What the? Why would I bang my head against a wall?" I'm at a lost for words.

"That's what I want to know. You were acting like a completely different person out there Okabe! It was creepy."

"You said I was talking to you about time travel stuff?" What did I tell her about?

"Yeah. I had no idea you could be so mean, Okabe Rintarou!" Suzuha shoots me a withering glare.

Mean?

"What did I tell you?"

"You were grinning all creepy-like while telling me some messed up stuff. Like how I'm going to hang myself or how I failed miserably."

...

Why the hell would I tell her that stuff?!

"Did I, really?"

Suzuha nods grimly.

"I think these time leaps are starting to affect your mental state." Kurisu interjects.

Suzuha quickly grabs my arm. "How many times have you done this time leaping thing? And why?"

I take a deep sigh.

_Time to explain... Again._

"Well, I'm in an involuntary time loop. The time frame is 3:00 PM on the 11th, to the 13th on midnight. I've leaped over 100 times and as far as I know, there's no feasible escape from this loop."

"I wasn't able to come up with a solution?" Kurisu asks quietly.

"Well you came up with a theory. But the solution that you proposed is impossible to complete within 2 days. You predicted that it would take considerable funding and several decades in order to fix my problem. And as I said, I only have two days."

Suzuha looks at me, deeply disturbed. "Okabe... I'm so sorry."

"Apologizing won't make me feel any better."

Suddenly, Suzuha brightens up. "Hey, if you want you can try to time travel with me! It's a 2 seater and-"

"Tried that. Didn't work."

"Oh." Suzuha looks crestfallen.

Kurisu looks at me, eyes burning. "So what? You're just giving up? There has to be some sort of solution!"

"You know how many times you've said that over all of the time leaps I've been through? It isn't possible Kurisu. The only way I've been keeping sane so far is by treating Mayuri's death as a game. A sort of impossible game."

"Wait... Mayuri's death?"

Kurisu replaces her angry gaze with one of shock. "Mayuri's going to die?"

I hear Suzuha gasp as well.

"The 13th, 8:00 PM. Always. Every single time. And no Suzuha, it isn't your fault."

Suzuha flinches. "It's like you're reading my mind."

I sigh in contempt. "This is my fate. I've accepted that."

"You can't just lay down and accept this!"

"Kurisu. You yourself have said that this was probably impossible."

"No way! I would never admit something like that!"

"Well you have. The only solution I can think of for this is death. But even that might not be possible if the Attractor Field theory stays true."

_Smack!_

My head snaps back as stars fill my vision. Did Kurisu just slap me?

"Get a hold of yourself Okabe! Suzuha and I have both seen you go completely insane out there! You're gonna end up like that permanently if you don't do something about this! If that was what happened after only 100 time leaps, then what would happen with 1000 time leaps? 10,000? You would probably stay in a vegetative state by then!" Kurisu chides.

"It's not like I want to be in this time loop, you know." I say while rubbing my cheek.

That's definitely leaving a mark.

"You mentioned that I proposed a solution." Kurisu mutters dryly. "What is it?"

"Based on what I tried, you admitted that trying to break me out of the time loop was unrealistic. But you said that we might be able to move the time frame for the loop forwards. I spent most of my time loops with you trying to do that. It's impossible."

Kurisu puts her hand up to her chin and starts whispering to herself. Was she brainstorming?

"You won't last long, Okabe." Suzuha frowns softly.

I exhaled deeply.

"I know."


	14. Chapter 12

_I can't get a single break, can I?_

After some time, Kurisu practically forced me to try upgrading the Phonewave again. I know that deep down, she knows breaking me out of this loop is impossible. She tries to anyway.

Naturally, Moeka and her men raid the lab again. Mayuri and Daru aren't there but I can assume that Mayuri has died somehow anyway.

In the end, Kurisu's determination and intellect makes no difference.

No one can stand against time. I know this but...

I try again.

I try time leaping again. Nothing.

I let both myself and the other lab mems send D-Mails. Nothing.

Nothing is working. Not that I should have expected anything different.

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_Time Loop #153_

The meeting time is 5:30. There's still more than 20 minutes left. I came here early to perform an ambush. I've been hiding here for 30 minutes already, quietly in bated breath.

I hear the door open.

_Moeka._

She looks around restlessly. She still hasn't noticed me.

Shoving my hands into the pockets of my lab coat, I grab hold of my knife. They're shaking badly.

I sent her an email, asking her to meet here alone. I pretended to want to talk to her about the IBN 5100. Obviously, I don't intend to talk to her.

My intentions are more... Immoral.

Before I could hesitate any more, I bring the knife out and drive it directly into her back.

"...!" No shouting. No screaming. Just a small gasp.

My mind starts buzzing relentlessly. It feels familiar, somehow.

_"Die. Fucking die. You bitch."_ Is that rasping voice mine? I suppose it must be.

I kick her body, separating it from my knife. Moeka falls to the ground, almost inaudibly.

_Ding!_

As I expected, the elevator door opens. This wasn't my first meeting with Moeka. I know that she brings a backup Rounder.

As quickly as I could, I tackle the Rounder in the elevator before he could react, burying the knife into him as well.

"AUUUUGHHH!" The Rounder screams. I take the knife out and stab him again.

He doesn't scream this time. Instead, he lets out a weak gurgle.

The buzzing noise increases in volume. My vision starts to flicker.

_I just killed two people._

Is this what it feels like to murder someone in cold blood?

I can hear my heart racing like a rabbit. The pounding resounds throughout my entire body.

Undeniable satisfaction fills me.

_this is wrong this is wrong this is wrong this is wrong this is wrong this is_ _wrong_

Why does it feel so good then?

Watching my tormentors die... It feels so good...!

_Bang!_

Sharp pain rushes through my leg.

_Fuck. I forgot about Moeka. I should have taken her_ gun!

"Shit..." I hiss in pain. Thankfully, the bullet only hit my leg.

I turn around and jump at Moeka, who was already trying to aim her gun again.

"Stop it..." Moeka tries to shove me away from her, failing pathetically.

I feel a crazy smile form on my face. "Die."

I finish the job.

As soon as Moeka dies, I feel the buzzing noise go away.

Nothing comes except for complete silence.

Blissful silence.

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...

...

...

_Silence._

...

...

...

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Okabe wakes up in the lab once again. How many times has he leapt by now? He has lost count several times.

_It probably doesn't matter at this point. But if I had to guess... 800 times?_

Ever since Okabe took his first two lives, things had begun to go into a downward spiral. He had stopped caring about trying to escape this loop, instead trying to find new ways to amuse himself.

"Okarin? Are you okay?" Mayuri looks at Okabe worriedly.

**Again.**

Instead of responding, Okabe casually walks out of the lab.

_How should_ I_ distract myself today?_ Okabe ponders to himself.

After some walking, Okabe stumbles upon Yanabayashi shrine. Somewhere, in one of Okabe's many time leaps, he had learned about Rukako's true feelings for him. Once Okabe knew, her crush had become extremely obvious.

_I should have noticed it earlier, really. Even as a boy, he harbored feelings for_ me.

As Okabe approached the shrine, he sees Rukako cleaning up around the shrine, as usual.

"Oh! Ok- I mean, Kyouma!" Rukako hurriedly walks up to Okabe to greet him.

"My loyal disciple! I have an important matter to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Rukako shyly eyes the mad scientist.

Slowly and deliberately, Okabe lowers himself, bringing himself eye to eye with her.

"So, what are your true feelings for me? Okabe asks with an insane grin.

All at once, the air rushes out of Rukako's lungs. It seemed as if time had stopped.

_He knows?!_

The two stood there, seconds ticking away slowly.

Then, Rukako breaks the silence.

"W-W-W-What? K-Kyouma?!" Rukako stammers, panic stricken.

Okabe draws closer to Rukako, leaving mere inches seperating them.

_Oh my god he's so close to me I can feel his breath on me Oh my god what do I do_

"Answer simply and honestly, my disciple." Okabe managed to replace his grin with a more gentle smile. But despite being in the middle of an emotionally rich scene, he felt nothing but amusement. That was the purpose of this, after all.

"I..." Rukako takes a shaking breath.

"I like you, Kyouma. No, I really like you... Okabe." Rukako admits, face red with embarrassment.

Satisfied, Okabe stands straight up again.

Smiling teasingly, Okabe puts his finger beneath Rukako's chin, tilting her head up to meet his.

Rukako's face flushes.

_Is going to...?_

His lips softly meets hers.

...

...

After nearly a full minute, the pair seperate.

But while Rukako is reveling in shock and pleasure, Okabe barely feels anything.

_This was interesting, _Okabe muses to himself. _I wonder what else I can do?_

"Did that... really just happen?" Rukako could hardly believe it. Okabe had visited her without warning and then kissed her? This must be a dream. It had to be.

_I don't want to wake up._

"It happened alright. How do you feel?" Okabe stares at Rukako with morbid curiosity. Rukako was to distracted to notice this, however.

"I... I feel happy?"

_How do I feel? That's a pretty weird question, I think. I guess that's just how Okabe is._

"Want to do it again, sometime?" He gives her a condescending smirk.

"Huh? Oh- Um... Yes! I mean... only if you want to." Rukako stammers shyly.

Okabe pats her on the head, sighing. _Hope she doesn't expect much then._

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Once again, Okabe wakes up in the lab.

Despite being caught in yet another time leap, Okabe feels excitement. He had been working on perfecting his plan, and he had almost gotten it right on his previous attempt!

"Okarin? Are you okay? Something seems off about you…" Mayuri looks at me worriedly.

"It's nothing."

_Attempt #3! Let's see if I can do it correctly this time! _

"Third times the charm..." Okabe mutters to himself.

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The door suddenly kicks open.

Afterwards, I see several black shadows break into the lab, with movements all too familiar.

Nobody in the lab had time to scream. About five men have broken in. I recognize all of them. They're dressed in showy shirts and shorts, polo shorts and jeans, as always.

The men are holding guns, and not just handguns. Several of them have automatic rifles.

_Now, to wait for Moeka._

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air."

An involuntary grin works its way up Okabe's face as he complies.

Daru, Mayuri, and Kurisu quickly follows suit.

Beyond the door kicked open.

This is the sound of heels.

A woman is coming up the stairs.

"This is it ladies and gentlemen! The show is about to commence!" Okabe starts cackling maniacally.

"Okabe!" Kurisu hisses. "Now isn't the time!"

"Keep your mouth shut." One of the men gestures to Okabe with his gun.

The woman appears.

"Ah, Kiryu Moeka! I have a surprise for you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Okabe starts to slowly reach towards his back pocket.

"Okarin...?" Mayuri looks up at him with wide eyes.

"Hey pal, you wanna get shot? Stop acting like a psycho and put your hands back up."

Then, faster then anyone could react, Okabe pulls out his phone and presses the call button.

Right at that instant...

_BOOM_

A wall of fire suddenly explodes from behind Moeka and her men, pushing them forwards.

"AIEEEEEE!" Daru uncharacteristically shrieks as the body of one of the Rounders crashes into him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHHAA! THIRD TIMES THE CHARM BABY! BURN YOU FUCKS!" Okabe screeches maniacally, slowly walking towards the site of the explosion.

_Bang!_

A bullet suddenly grazes Okabe's arm. He knows exactly who shot it and who the bullet ended up hitting.

"Ah!" Mayuri gasps in surprise.

Okabe quickly leaps at the direction of the bullet, landing directly on top of Moeka, who was laying on the ground, injured.

Moeka doesn't make any noise other then a grunt of surprise as Okabe puts all of his weight on top of her stomach.

Softly plucking Moeka's gun from her hands, Okabe bends down to meet Moeka in the eye. "What's up, Shining Finger?"

"... How did you know?" Moeka looks around the room, at the chaos that had been inflicted by Okabe's bomb.

Daru was desperately shaking Mayuri's corpse in hope that she was still alive.

Kurisu was still standing, unmoving. Her face is incredibly pale and she had her mouth open in shock.

Most of the other Rounders had succumbed to the explosion and were either dead or unconscious. Those who were still awake were moaning in pain.

Somehow, the room hadn't caught fire. The only traces of the explosion were a couple pillars of black smoke and overturned furniture.

"How did you know?" Moeka demands again.

Instead of answering, Okabe swiftly grabs Moeka's phone from her pocket.

"No! Give that back!" Moeka says, panic evident in her voice as she struggles to get up.

_Bang!_

The phone screen flickered briefly before turning off. A smoking bullet hole had appeared in the middle of the screen. Cracks snaked out from the hole.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Moeka starts shrieking and slapping at Okabe.

Okabe threw the phone at Moeka's face as hard as he could.

The impact snapped her glasses in half. But Moeka didn't seem to care as she quickly grabbed her phone and tried pitifully to turn it on.

Okabe shifts his arm downwards, onto Moeka's distracted face.

"Die."

"Wait Okabe! Don't do this!" A slender hand places itself over Okabe's and pulls it back.

"Oh, Kurisu. Finally broke out of your stupor?"

Kurisu flinches as Okabe turns to meet Kurisu.

_His eyes... They're so_ _empty. _In spite of herself, a cold feeling overtook her.

"Okabe?"

Then without warning, Okabe pulls his hand out of Kurisu's grip and snaps his aim back down to Moeka.

"Wait n-"

_Bang!_

Moeka dropped dead.

"Hahaha. That was her most satisfying death yet! I'm done. I'm finally done." Okabe says as he slowly starts reloading his pistol.

"What the hell is wrong with you man? Mayuri's..." Daru starts choking on his words. "Mayuri's dead!"

"Oh, I know. Quite sad, I know. Get over it." Okabe says casually as he raises his arm.

"How could you say that Okarin?! What the hell happened to-" Daru's speech abruptly stops as he sees what Okabe was doing.

"Okabe... Don't" Kurisu whispers. She felt more frightened then she had ever felt in her life.

Okabe, the charismatic, eccentric self proclaimed mad scientist...

Her fellow lab member...

Is about to kill himself?

_This doesn't make sense._

Okabe was standing at the lab's entrance, gun pointed at his temple. "There's nothing I can do. Death is the only escape for me. I see this now, and I've accepted it. Not even that dumb fucking divergence can stop this. So long you two. Enjoy the rest of this disgusting timeline on your own." He gives a serene grin.

"No..."

"Okarin don't -"

_Bang!_

Okabe drops dead.


	15. Chapter 13

_The only solution I can think of for this is death._

_Death is the only escape for me_

Death was the only plausible escape left. Though the Attractor Field theory should prevent Okabe's death, in the end, it's still just a theory. Even the divergence can't stop something such as a straight suicide.

Okabe Rintarou died. That much was true.

Despite this...

Okabe stares straight forward, at a wall, and a flip phone on one hand. On that wall was a calendar. According to said calendar, it was currently the 11th.

"Okarin? Are you okay? Your face is pale…" Mayuri looks at Okabe worriedly. She had been sewing a cosplay costume for ComiMa.

_I felt the bullet drive itself into my skull. I felt myself die._ _So why...?_

"Oh. I think I see it now. I was already dead." Okabe lets out a humorless laugh and shakes his head. "I've been dead for a while now."

"Whaaaaa? Okarin isn't dead! No way!" Mayuri pokes Okabe's arm as if to reassure herself that he was really there.

"Chill out Mayuri. Okarin is just deluding himself again."

"But..."

_This seems different from Hououin Kyouma... Is Okarin really okay?_

"Still though, I should double check. I have nothing to lose anyway." Okabe thinks to himself out loud.

"Double check?" Mayuri looks at Okabe curiously.

Instead of responding, Okabe ignores her, instead quickly standing up and leaving the lab.

"Wait! Okarin!" But he had already left. Sighing, Mayuri gave up and sat back down. Despite being extremely passionate about creating costumes, Mayuri couldn't concentrate on her sewing anymore.

_I wonder if I'm just being a burden to Okarin... Is that why he's being so distant to me?_

"Jeez. He was certainty acting more moody then usual." Daru shakes his head and returns to his H-game.

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A couple of hours later, Okabe returns to the lab with a large plastic bag. From the sag of the bag, it was evident that something heavy was in it.

"Where have you been?" Kurisu asks, with a Dr. P in her hand. Kurisu had been taking a small break from developing the Phonewave when Okabe walked in.

"Ah, you know. Mad scientist stuff." Okabe shakes off her question with a weak excuse.

"Seriously? You didn't even try on that one."

Okabe shrugs in response. "Whatever. I'm going to the shower room. Don't bother me."

Not waiting for a response, Okabe proceeds to walk into the shower, being sure to close the door behind him.

"Oooh! I wonder what type of stuff Okabe is doing in there!" Daru quips, glasses fogging up.

"What do you mean? What else would he do in a shower room?" Kurisu looks at Daru questioningly.

"Well, he brought that large bag in there with him! He also seemed to be in a rush. You think there are some naughty magazines in there? Ooh, maybe some toys?"

"Wha- Stop being such a pervert Hashida!" Kurisu snaps, fighting off a blush.

"Why would he bring in that large bag with him in the shower? It's obviously something naughty!" Daru smirks, amused by Kurisu's reaction.

"It's probably just shampoo or something." she says, scoffing.

"Shampoo? Yeah right. We both know that he bro-"

_Crash!_

_..._

A loud crashing noise coming from the bathroom suddenly interrupts their banter.

Kurisu raises an eyebrow. "What was that?"

Shrugging, Daru goes up to the bathroom door and gives a small knock. "Okarin? You okay in..." Suddenly, Daru's eyes widen. "Okarin?! What's going on?

An ominous chill goes down Kurisu's spine. "What?"

"I don't know! I think Okabe's choking I hear some noises like he's suffocating or something." Daru frantically tries to open the doorknob but it was locked.

"What?!" Kurisu stands up and runs to the door. "Okabe!"

No response, save for the choking noise Daru heard.

"Break the door down!"

Daru nods.

_We're lucky that the doors in this place aren't in good condition. _

Without further delay, Daru backs up and uses his full weight - over 200 pounds, to smash the door down.

The scene that unfolded beyond the shower door...

"No way..." Daru whispers, face pale as he stands back up.

"..." Kurisu couldn't believe her eyes either.

A stool kicked over on the floor. Above it

His body dangerously still

Okabe hanging from the ceiling

Rope tied tightly around his neck

No signs of life besides some choked gasps

...

"OKABE!" Kurisu finally shreiks.

Acting on pure instinct, Daru runs up to Okabe's motionless body and holds his torso up. "Okarin! Hang in there!" Daru panics.

"Oh my god, untie him! Hurry!"

"Yeah!" Reaching up with one hand, Daru starts to untie the noose around Okabe's neck.

A couple minutes later, Okabe was laying down on the couch still panting weakly. Both Daru and Kurisu looked down on Okabe, worried.

"I can't believe that he would try to hang himself..." No matter how Kurisu looked at it, it made no sense. Okabe had shown no signs of depression on anxiety. In fact, he was pretty much the opposite, acting charismatic and care free most of the time.

"Me neither." For as long as Daru knew him, Okabe had never acted depressed or anything. The fact that Okabe just tried to commit suicide left him completely dumbstruck.

"I... thought I told... you..." Okabe gasps between breaths. "to not... fucking bother me!"

Okabe was furious, but not surprised. Killing himself wouldn't be that easy. He needed a more definite way to be able to commit suicide. Hanging took quite some time, and since Okabe was rather lanky, the drop was not enough to break his neck.

"You idiot! Why would you try to hang yourself? You could have died..." Kurisu glares weakly at him.

"That's the... point, yes."

"Just tell me why damn it!" Kurisu slams both of her hand on the table, trembling.

_Okabe... Was he carrying some baggage? Did something happen to him recently? Either way... I should have noticed something. He could have died today!_ Kurisu thinks, disappointed in herself.

"Okarin... Man let us help you out here."

"Let you guys... Help me?" Okabe chuckles. "Ha! You've both already tried helping me... hundreds of times. You just don't remember it."

"I don't remember?" Daru asks, confused.

"Hundreds of times. And every single time, I end up in the same place. None of you can help me here."

Something clicks in Kurisu's brain.

"Wait a minute..." Kurisu interjects. "You aren't talking about time leaping, are you?"

"What else would I be talking about?" Okabe stares into Kurisu's eyes with challenging eyes.

"Woah hold on a second here. Okabe time leaped? Hundreds of times?"

"If I had to guess, about 800 times."

"Are you serious?! Why wo-" Kurisu starts.

"Blah blah blah, permanent time loop, no solution, blah blah something something." Okabe glares at Kurisu. "Get the gist yet?"

Kurisu stares at Okabe incredulously. "Can't you explain a bit more th-"

"Tutturu!" Mayuri skips into the lab.

_Ugh. How many times will I be interrupted? _

"Hey Chris-chan! Hey Daru! Hey... Okarin?" Mayuri looks at Okabe in surprise.

"Are you okay? There's a purple ring around your neck."

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a bruise from when I tried to hang myself in the bathroom." Okabe sneers.

This shocked Mayuri from the core. It seemed as if her heart had stopped.

"Hang..." Mayuri takes a step back. "Yourself?"

Daru looks down. "It's true. Luckily, I managed to get him down before he kicked the bucket.

"Hashida!" Kurisu snapped. "Don't say it like that!

"Sorry..."

Dread quickly falls upon Mayuri.

_Okarin tried to hang himself!_

"Okarin... I'm so sorry!" Mayuri breaks out crying.

**"Sorry?!"** Daru and Kurisu both cry out in shock.

"I didn't even notice that you were hurting! Mayushii is a terrible friend to Okarin..." Mayuri sobs.

"Heheheh..." Okabe starts laughing. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Eh? Okarin?" Mayuri looks at Okarin, puzzled.

"It would have been pretty fucking impressive if you noticed that I was hurting before today you know?"

"I don't understand..."

"Bah, I'm not going to explain this again." Okabe stands up and heads for the lab entrance.

Suddenly, Kurisu's arm shoots forward and grabs Okabe's sleeve. "Hey, you aren't going anywhere!"

"Fuck off." In a blink, Okabe seamlessly slips out of his lab coat and runs out of the door.

"Hey, wait up!" Without further delay, Kurisu chases Okabe out of the lab.

_If I let him get away... He might try to kill himself again!_

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"Okabe, what are you doing?"

Kurisu slowly approaches Okabe who was standing at the edge of the ledge on top of the Radio Kaikan roof.

"Oh, Kurisu. I'm just gonna jump off." Okabe says this as casually as if he were stating the weather.

A jolt of electricity goes through Kurisu's body. "Okabe, please. Don't jump off. I know that none of us could understand the pain you've been going through. But we can still try to listen to you."

"How would listening to me help anything?"

"Just don't jump Okabe" Kurisu pleads.

"I'm just trying to confirm a theory. I had already died in a previous timeline. So, I'm going to die again. If I wake up again, then I can confirm that death means nothing in this time loop. If I don't wake up, then that was just a fluke and I get to finally be free of this hell." Okabe shrugs. "There's no downside to this."

"Oka-"

"Later." And with that, Okabe dives headfirst off of the Radio Kaikan tower.

"No!"

Kurisu rushes to the ledge but it was too late.

She looks down.

"Oh..."

...

Okabe was dead.

Again.


	16. Chapter 14

_As I thought._

Okabe smiles humorlessly to himself.

_I am so fucked. It's actually kind of funny._

"Okarin? Are you okay? You look kind of tired…" Mayuri looks at Okabe worriedly.

Tired was an understatement. The way Okabe was feeling right now, it felt as if he had been forced to run a 500 mile marathon.

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_Time Loop #17820_

Okabe watched Moeka and her men raid the lab. How many time have they done that by now? Okabe lost count. The number was probably in the thousands.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says. Again.

The sight of these men armed with AK-47's used to terrify Okabe.

Not anymore.

With tens of thousands of time leaps, Okabe has memorized every single movement that will do. Not on purpose, of course. The scene just burned itself into Okabe's mind.

Okabe calmly walks towards them.

"Okabe! What the hell are you doing?!" Kurisu shouts.

One of them raises their gun.

"Back up, pal."

Then, faster then anyone can blink, Okabe grabs his gun and unloads every single bullet into the heads of the men.

They didn't even have time to blink. All at once, they collapse onto the floor, dead.

"What..? Ok-Okabe...?" Kurisu stares at him, her mouth gaping.

Upon thousands of time leaps, Okabe spent a good amount of them learning efficient arts of disarming, to the point where he could even be considered a master.

He had also spent countless hours in shooting ranges, perfecting his aim.

Okabe had taught himself to be a super soldier, simply because he had nothing else to do.

"You're safe now, I guess." Okabe replies in a listless tone.

_How ridiculous._

Okabe then proceeds to walk out of the lab, ignoring the other lab mems staring at him in shock.

He aims his gun at a woman wearing a motorcycle helmet who was approaching the lab.

The bullet goes straight through her heart.

_Well, that was fun, I suppose. _Okabe thinks, slightly amused.

Kurisu runs out of the lab and grabs Okabe's arm.

"How did you do that? Who were those men? You better answer me, Okabe." Though Kurisu tried to sound angry, it was obvious that she was extremely frightened.

She was frightened of Okabe. How he had mercilessly killed those men.

"Soldiers employed by SERN. I did that by disarming them and shooting them. Not that big of a deal." Okabe says this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well I KNOW that. I saw you do that. I wanted to know how yo-"

"Mayuri's dead, right?" Okabe interrupts.

"Wh-What?" Kurisu asks confusedly.

_Dead? But they didn't even get a chance to shoot!_

Suddenly, Suzuha runs up the stairs.

"Hey!" Suzuha pants. "What happened! I heard gunshots and-"

"The Rounders are dead. Get outta here, Suzuha."

Suzuha looks at Okabe strangely. "Okabe? What did you do?"

"Nothing, daughter of Hashida Itaru." Okabe says with a slight smirk on his face.

"Huh? Suzuha is the daughter of Hashida? That's not possible, Okabe." Kurisu narrowed her eyes at Okabe.

"Joking, of course."

Suzuha raises a finger. "Hey wait a seco-"

Okabe shakes his head and turns his attention back to Kurisu. "Go check on her. She's dead. It may look like she just passed out, but she probably had a heart attack or a stroke or something." Okabe shoos Kurisu away with the wave of his hand.

"Heart attack? She isn't even in her 20's."

"I know."

Taking a deep breath, Kurisu slowly walks back into the lab. She see's Daru placing Mayuri on top of the couch.

"Is she okay?" Kurisu asks nervously.

"Uh, I think so. She probably just passed out." Daru is in shock as well. In fact, the way he was feeling, he wouldn't be surprised if he was next to pass out.

"... Check her pulse."

"Huh? Why?"

"J-Just do it."

_Oh god please don't be dead_

_Let Okabe be wrong._

_Please._

Daru places his hand on Mayuri's wrist.

After a couple of seconds, he places his hand around her neck.

Then, he puts his ear next to Mayuri's mouth.

"What... What the hell? No pulse, no breath... How in the world?" Daru suddenly stands up and backs away. "Don't tell me that she's..."

Kurisu could only stand there, tears streaming out of her eyes.

_Okabe..._

_Did you time leap?_

"Well, duh."

"Huh?!" Kurisu jumps and looks behind her. Okabe was standing there with his hands in his pocket. "Wha- Did you just read my mind?" Kurisu's fear of Okabe starts steadily increasing.

_No. This isn't Okabe. His eyes... How didn't I notice sooner? _

_Those are the eyes of a -_

"Yeah yeah, eyes of a dead man." Okabe scoffs.

Kurisu flinches. "Stop! Stop doing that... Please."

Okabe shakes his head but doesn't respond further.

"How many times, Okabe?"

"Who knows? I stopped counting after I reached a thousand." Okabe laughs humorlessly.

_I stopped counting after I reached a thousand_

"Th-Th-Thous-..." Kurisu stammers.

Okabe raises his eyebrows. "Oh, I did way more then a thousand. I just lost count."

"WHY?!" Kurisu shrieks. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

"Heh. You don't scream very often. Even with these time leaps, it's a rarity."

Kurisu pauses to regain her composure.

"... Just answer me."

"Infinite time loop, something something all of eternity." Okabe 'explains'. "Of course, I'm not doing this of my own will."

"An... Infinite time loop..." Kurisu shudders.

"Yep."

"..."

"..."

"I'm sorry." Kurisu winces inwardly.

_'I'm sorry'? That probably doesn't mean anything to him at this_ _point._ Kurisu cursed herself inwardly.

"As if it's your fault."

"What's the time frame?"

"The 11th at 3 PM to the 13th at midnight. No more questions, please. I've explained this way too many times."

Kurisu nodded. There was nothing she could say, after all.

As she walks back inside the lab, she comforts a crying Daru.

"Wh-What the hell? What even happened..? Okabe just... And then Mayuri..."

"I know."

Daru takes a deep breath. "I.. I'm gonna call the cops. I guess I should tell them what happened."

Then, Daru widened his eyes. "Wait, will Okabe go to jail for this? I mean, it's self defense right?"

"I don't think you need to worry about Okabe, Daru." Kurisu says quietly.

"Huh? Why not?" Daru looks at Kurisu with questioning eyes.

"Just trust me." Daru hesitates, then nods before turning back to Mayuri.

"Why...? Mayuri..."

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

Daru and Kurisu both jump at the sound of several shots ringing out.

"What the?" Daru looks around. "What was that? Are there more men coming?"

Kurisu runs out of the lab to look for Okabe.

_Was that Okabe?!_

She sees him crouching over the corpse of a woman wearing a motorcycle helmet.

"Okabe?"

"Ah, sorry. I just unloaded the rest of my bullets into this bitch." Okabe says casually.

She carefully approaches the corpse. Sure enough, there were several smoking bullet holes all over her body.

"Who is she?"

"I believe I called her 'Shining Finger'. Doesn't matter now." Okabe then started searching her body.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, he pulled out a gun from her corpse.

Kurisu's heart stopped.

Okabe stood up and turned towards her. Despite maintaining a neutral stance, Kurisu felt an inexplicably strong aura of malice coming from him.

"Wait, please don't." Kurisu slowly backs up. "Please."

"Oh, shut up." Okabe rolls his eyes, annoyed. "Surprisingly enough, I haven't killed you or Mayuri yet. Not sure why."

Hearing this, Kurisu feels a small amount of relief. Seems like Okabe still has some amount of humanity left in him.

"So... Um what's it for?"

"Myself of course." Okabe cocks the gun and lifts it to his temple.

"Wait wh-"

_BANG!_

And with that, Okabe dropped dead.

"Ah...? Ah... Oh..." Kurisu stammers. "O-Okabe...?"

"OH MY GOD!"

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Okabe lowers his phone.

_Back for another round. _Okabe thinks. _What should I do this time?_

He looks at Mayuri. _Hmmmm._

"Eh? Okarin? Is everything alright?" Mayuri cocks her head slightly.

Then, without any warning, Okabe leans in and kisses Mayuri on the cheek.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhh?" Mayuri blushes.

"You're a good girl, Mayuri." Okabe sighs. "Why has the universe cursed you to this?"

"What's Okarin going on about this time, Mayuri?" Daru turns around from his chair, oblivious to what Okabe just did.

"Um... Okarin kissed Mayushii on the cheek?" Mayuri stares at Okabe in shock.

_Okarin... Just kissed me? _

Normally, Mayuri would be overjoyed whenever Okabe shows affection to her, but something was different.

_His eyes... seem_ _distant._

"Cursed?" Mayuri questions.

"Forget it."

"Woah woah woah back up a second. Okarin just WHAT?" Daru gapes.

"Just on the cheek. Don't be an idiot, Daru." Okabe says in a toneless voice.

**"Woah! Okarin is finally making his move!"** Okabe and Daru both shout at the same time.** "Go die normie!"**

Daru blinks. "Wait, what? Did you just..."

"You're too predictable, Daru." Okabe gets up and walks towards the backroom, where Kurisu is working on the time machine.

_Kurisu was pretty annoying last time around. Perhaps I should mess with her next._

Kurisu was hunched over the Phonewave, tinkering with it using a screwdriver.

"Sup, KuriGohan and Kamehameha?" Okabe says as he lightly slaps her on the ass.

Kurisu immediately straightens up and turns to Okabe.

"Wha- Did you j-just..." Kurisu stammers, a slight tinge appearing on her face.

"Problem?"

_He just... to me... I knew it! Pervert!_ Kurisu thinks furiously. _I've had it with this man!_

Kurisu quickly brings her hand forward, with the intention of slapping Okabe.

Of course, Okabe doesn't get hit. Instead, he catches the side of Kurisu's hand in between his index and middle finger, in a V- sign.

"Huh?" Kurisu blinks. "How did you..."

"Scissors beats papers."

Kurisu gapes at Okabe.

_This... FUCKING... Piece of..._

"So, how's Amadeus?" Okabe asks casually.

"... What the fu-"

"Do you have the app on your phone? Or maybe you use your laptop?" Okabe then puts his fist on his chin.

"Ya know, I haven't talked to her recently. Think I can get some conversations in? The A.I is pretty fascinating."

For the first time in her life, Kurisu was completely speechless. Here Okabe was, spilling out secrets that only a few people know about in the most casual manner possible. Not to mention he just slapped her ass!

"Eh, never mind. Amadeus is actually pretty boring once you get to know her. It's pretty much just a clone, anyway. Keep up the good work though. Time leap machine seems to be going well." And with that, Okabe left her alone with a flurry of confused thoughts.

Okabe moves next to Daru who was watching a cutscene in his computer.

"Hey Daru, watch this."

"Huh? What's up? Daru glances at Okabe, not paying much attention. He was in the middle of a steamy scene in one of his H-games. He spent many hours working on this route, and he wasn't going to pause this part for anything!

"N6F&Yu5-TJ KpjtSr9d63Y-h#" Okabe spells out.

Daru paused his game.

"Wait a minute... Did you just say my-"

"Yeah the password to your computer." Okabe sighs. "Looks pretty strong, but obviously not strong enough right?

Daru's gaze darkens. "How did you find my password? My computer has the best firewall in the world.. I've told literally no one about that, and I don't use that password for anything but this computer."

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Okabe bellows one of his signature laughs, but Daru could feel something different in it this time. For some reason, instead of making him cringe, it sent a chill down his spine.

"I'm an insane mad scientist of course! The great HOUOUIN KYOUMA! With an IQ rivaling that of Issac Newton, it's no wonder that your password is free knowledge for me." Okabe says, an insane grin on his face. The grin was nothing more then a mask, however. Okabe felt nothing but an almost insignificant sense of amusement.

"I used my mad scientist skills to learn everything about your life! I could write a biography about you. Of course I would know your passwords."

"I'm serious Okarin. How did you know?" Daru glares at Okabe.

"That wasn't a lie." Okabe suddenly turns deadly serious, returning the glare.

Daru suddenly broke in a cold sweat.

_He knows everything about me._

Despite it being impossible, Daru felt utterly convinced.

"Um... Mayushii is worried about Okarin." Mayuri says, quietly.

"Your worry is probably well placed." Okabe states.

Suddenly, Okabe felt extremely bored.

_I could have probably played this loop out in my mind with complete accuracy. What a waste of time._

"Damn, I didn't play this loop pretty well. It ended up being as predictable as ever." Okabe sighs and stalks towards the kitchen, ignoring the gaze of Mayuri, Daru.

Kurisu suddenly stepped out and grabbed Okabe's arm. "What do you mean this loop?"

"ARRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Out of nowhere, Okabe lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Ah!" Shocked, Kurisu stumbles back, letting go of Okabe.

"Heh. That always works. Now then..." Okabe brings out a large kitchen knife from the drawer.

"Woah dude what the hell?" Daru steps out of his chair.

"Okabe wait!" Kurisu says, horrified. "Put the knife down, okay?"

"Okarin!" Mayuri runs towards Okabe. "What are you doing?"

"Mayuri! Wait!" Kurisu pulls Mayuri back.

Instead of saying anything, Okabe carefully posistions the tip of the knife into his right nostril, with the palm of his hand on the handle.

"Oh my god, Okabe please." Kurisu shivers as terror fills her body.

"Okarin wait, don't dude. We can talk about this." Daru begs.

"Noooo! Okarin what are you doing?!" Mayuri screams.

"Sorry. It's just faster this way. I would rather not wait out the entire time frame again." Without further delay, Okarin smacks the flat of the knife as hard as he could, tearing his nostril and impaling his frontal lobe.

Okabe was dead before he hit the ground.

Instead of screaming or shouting, Okabe's fellow lab mems could do nothing but stare at his corpse in shock.

They stayed that way, completely silent, save for the sound of Mayuri sobbing.

No one was willing to make the first move.

Mayuri felt complete and utter sorrow. She didn't think about why Okabe had just killed himself. She just felt pure despair.

_NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo_

Daru was shocked into being speechless. He started repeatedly pinching his arm in disbelief.

_No way. Okarin committing suicide? Right after guessing my secret password? This is a dream. It has to be._

Kurisu just replayed the scene in her mind over and over again.

over and over.

Okabe's flawless execution of his suicide.

Okabe's steady hands as he positioned the knife.

Okabe's lack of hesitation.

As of he had done this several times before.

Then, realization dawns upon Kurisu's mind.

_"Sorry. It's just faster this way. I would rather not wait out the entire time frame again."_

__He had done this several times before.__


	17. Chapter 15

_Time Loop #25991_

Faris is a rather talented girl. Being able to basically read other people's minds is an extraordinary power, after all. This talent is extremely useful in business too. She has used this talent, _Cheshire Break_, to help her father out in business deals multiple times before. Being able to tell if anyone is telling a lie is a great tool in negotiations.

It's also a great tool in playing Rai-Net Access Battlers.

Throughout her entire life, Cheshire Break has never failed Faris. She had always been able to read the emotions of people without fail.

Now, however...

"Kyouma...?"

"Hm?" Okabe glances up from the board.

Okabe had challenged her to a game of Rai-Net Access Battlers. She had accepted, thinking that this would be another easy game.

But now...

_I can't get a read on him?!_

Okabe's eyes were completely dead.

They were filled with as much emotion as a pair of glass marbles.

"It's your turn. Is something the matter?"

"Um... It's nothing, nya. Let's continue."

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"... That's the fourth virus card." Okabe smiles softly.

_That was easier then I thought it would be._

Faris couldn't believe it. She had lost...?

"No way."

But Okabe had won. Nothing Faris did or say triggered a reaction from Okabe. She couldn't get any reads!

Even without any reads however, It was still a close game. Okabe himself had no link cards and two virus cards while Faris had 3 link cards.

Still, Okabe had beat her fair and square.

"Wow Kyouma... Um, have you been strengthening your ultimate ability nya?" Faris asks feebly.

Instead of humoring Faris as he usually does, Okabe just stands up from the board and leaves the room.

"Whats wrong with him...?" Faris looks after Okabe in worry but doesn't stop him from leaving.

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_Time Loop_ _#79863_

Okabe is broken.

What little pieces of sanity Okabe held has completely dissipated.

...

Immediately after the leap, Okabe just falls backward onto the couch, dropping his phone on the floor and doesn't respond to anyone or anything.

He lays there, unmoving, unspeaking. Occasionally, he cries. But other then that, he doesn't do anything.

"Okarin? Are you okay? You just collapsed..." Mayuri looks at Okabe worriedly.

"..." Okabe just blankly stares forwards. He doesn't even blink.

"Okarin?!" Mayuri starts to panic. "What's wrong?"

"..."

"Is there something wrong with Okarin?" Daru glances at Okabe, somewhat disturbed by his silence.

"I don't know!" Mayuri has started shaking Okabe to try and get a reaction out of him but to no avail.

"Heyyyy! Okarin! Say something!" Daru says while snapping his fingers in front of Okabe's eyes.

He didn't even flinch.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Kurisu walks into the main room, overhearing the commotion.

"Chris-chan!" Mayuri bawls. "Something is wrong with Okarin!"

"Yeah he's just completely out of it." Daru says, concern touching his voice.

"Let me see him." Okabe, still unresponsive is slumped down on the couch. His mouth is partly open and his eyes remained cloudy and unfocused.

"What, did Okarin suffer a stroke or something?"

Kurisu bites the bottom of her lip. "No. He's completely unresponsive save for some shallow breathing. A stroke wouldn't cause this."

Kurisu takes a deep breath, and then...

**"OKABE!"**

"Ah!" Mayuri scrambles backwards.

"Hey what's the big deal?" Daru winces and massages his ears.

"..."

Though Kurisu just screamed so loud that someone two blocks away could hear her, Okabe wasn't even slightly fazed. This prompted Kurisu to start feeling seriously worried.

"He didn't even flinch!" Kurisu says, dumbstruck.

Stepping forwards timidly, Mayrui grasps Okabe's hand. "Please Okarin... Mayushii's scared!"

"Let's bring him to a hospital." Daru suggests.

Kurisu nods. "Right."

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"A quick CT scan of the head reveals that there are slight abnormalities in the left frontal lobe. Though these abnormalities are extremely minor and shouldn't cause enough brain damage for any obvious symptoms, and certainly not unresponsiveness in a conscious subject." A tall doctor wearing a stereotypical stethoscope and white coat explains to the three lab mems.

"So nothing should be wrong with him?!" Daru clenches his teeth. "Then why-"

"However... Further examination reveals that he has some extreme signs of depression, anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, and even PTSD. Has Mr. Rintarou been subjected to any extreme stress recently?"

"Extreme stress?" Kurisu scrunches her eyebrows in thought. "He has been helping us on a project recently but he didn't seem very stressed out. In fact, he has been enthusiastic about this."

"Has there been any warning signs before today? Mood swings, reckless behavior, drug use..."

Kurisu shakes her head. "Not at all."

The doctor sighs and scratches his head with a pencil. "If that were true, then this would be an extremely unusual case."

"Please Okarin... Wake up..." Ever since Okabe had been taken to the doctor, Mayuri has been acting incredibly depressed.

"We will be performing more in depth tests on him. I shall contact one of you if any updates arise."

"Right. Thank you, Doctor."

As they leave the hospital, Kurisu starts to piece together a theory on Okabe's mental state.

_I can assume that Okabe became unresponsive right as he puts his phone up to his ear. This, plus the fact that he gets all of these mental problems seemingly out of no where means..._

_Did he time leap?_

Kuisu starts to feel inklings of guilt creep up on her. If the cause for Okabe's vegetative state was a side effect from the time leap machine... then doesn't that mean she was to blame for Okabe's state of mind?

It was certainly plausible. Kurisu didn't know what kind of effects on the brain a time leap would cause after all. For all she knew, becoming brain dead would happen to anyone who time leapt.

_I hope that isn't the case..._

But what else would it be? There was no other explanation.

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Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe had reacted to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe had been enough to trigger a slight reaction.

"... Mayuri." Okabe softly whispers.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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...

...

...

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_Time Loop #138527_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe had reacted to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe had been enough to trigger a slight reaction.

His eyes flickered for half a millisecond. It was so fast that the untrained eye couldn't have caught it.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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_Time Loop #778239_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe had reacted to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe had been enough to trigger a slight reaction.

His breath hitched imperceptibly. It was so subtle that it would be almost impossible to notice it.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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_Time Loop #1000000_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe didn't react at all to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe wasn't enough to trigger anything.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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_Time Loop #1928377  
_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe didn't react at all to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe wasn't enough to trigger anything.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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_Time Loop #3829102_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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Okabe didn't react at all to Mayuri's death.

She had been sitting next to him, crying silently while holding his hand when Rounders broke into the hospital room and shot Mayuri.

The sight of Mayuri collapsing on top of Okabe wasn't enough to trigger anything.

Due to being in an apparent vegetative state, Okabe was captured with ease.

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_Time Loop #?_

Kurisu and Daru both watch the Rounders raid their lab. It was around 8:00 PM on the 13th, and recently a bomb threat had stopped the train lines in Akihabara.

Mayuri wasn't in the lab - She had insisted on spending every possible moment by Okabe's side.

"Don't move. Everyone, hands in the air." One of the armed men says.

"What... What is this?" Daru stares at the guns in shock.

_AK-47's in Akihabara? No_ way...

...

_Clack, Clack, Clack._

The sound of someone walking in heels fill the empty room.

Moeka enters the room. She's wearing a full body leather suit with a pistol in her hand.

"... You two will come with us. We have already captured Okabe. Do not resist." Moeka drones.

Kurisu and Daru idle however, still trying to comprehend the situation that has unfolded in front of them.

_Bang!_

One of the men shoot their gun directly in between Daru's legs.

"Woah!" Daru breaks out of his stupor, exclaiming in surprise.

"You heard the woman! Get moving or I won't miss next time."

"Okay, okay!" Kurisu relents. "Just don't shoot."

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...

...

When the Rounders raided the hospital, they were somewhat surprised to find Mayuri laying down on the floor, bawling her eyes out.

They felt bad about it, but orders were orders. A quick shot through the head kills Mayuri.

"Alright, take Okabe and let's get out of here."

The Rounder nodded, and bent down to pick up Okabe. However, something caused him to pause and examine Okabe's body for a bit. "..."

"What's the hold up?"

"This guy is definitely dead." He stepped away from the corpse, dumbstruck.

"Seriously?" The Rounder put his fingers around Okabe's neck and sure enough, there was no pulse at all.

"What should we do?"

"... Bring him anyway. Our mission is to take Okabe to the boss. Just be sure to explain that we didn't kill him."

The Rounder sighs, clearly uncomfortable with carrying a corpse around. "Fine, fine."

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**Yep, no good ending. Sorry.**

**I guess this ends my first fic. Hope it was enjoyable**


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